Protecting From The Shadows
by Hidden In The Darkness 15
Summary: Most people think that the Kitsune, the legendary ANBU, is just that, a legend. But is he, really? And how does Naruto tie into all of this? YAOI!
1. Chapter 1

As I said I would, I'm gonna have a crack at another Naruto Cliche, Undercover ANBU Naruto! This is just a tester, and it might just stay at this one chapter if I feel like it, but it's so hard to find a good ANBU Naruto story, though I know they're there, I just find it, to borrow a certain someone's phrase, too troublesome, so I'm gonna try and write one! Anyone wanna place bets on how hard it'll tank? Oh, I'm dropping random trivia, usually people just ignore it anyway.

_**Title:**__Protecting From The Shadows**  
Pairing:**__ None Right Now, Maybe Later...**  
Warnings:**__ Another cliche**  
Disclaimer:**__ If Naruto was mine it would make no sense whatsoever, so be glad it isn't_

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_**Chapter 1**_

As the young ANBU cleaned off his gleaming, midnight black katana, his cold, calculating, ice blue eyes darted around the forest, always watching for any danger to his comrades or himself. His fox mask grinned demonically.

Not far away from the fox ANBU stood one with a cat mask, who was talking, seemingly to himself, though the fox knew that wasn't the case. Finally the cat seemed to be done speaking, and the fox called out to him.

"Neko, what does Hokage-sama say about our current status?" he asked, and the cat, Neko, turned to him with a sigh.

"She says you are far too young to be in this sort of danger, Kitsune, and to send you home immediately." he answered, his voice sounding dead serious for only a moment before he succumbed to the amusing quality of the situation, though the fox, Kitsune, didn't join him.

"This is beginning to get old. I know the Hokage is just worried for my safety, but she must realize that I have performed over a hundred missions like this successfully. Please inform her that I refuse, and will return at the end of the mission, like usual." Kitsune told his companion, who had finally got a hold of himself.

As Neko was about to do as ordered, the trees surrounding the stated to rustle, like the were being ruffled by the wind, but both ANBU knew that was not the case.

"No time! Neko, quickly contact Inu, Ookami, and Mizuhebi and tell them to get into position, it's time. They should know to act on the signal." the obviously younger ANBU ordered.

"Hai, taicho!" Neko grew serious, and did as he was told.

Kitsune pulled a kunai from the pouch at his waist, and tied an exploding note to the weapon. He waited silently, breathing shallowly as the trees swayed again, though this time it really was wind.

Finally, a cry echoed through the sleeping forest, and the enemy rained from the trees. Kitsune threw the kunai straight up into the air, performed a hand seal, and the small weapon exploded vibrantly.

Suddenly, as the enemy had all entered the clearing, small strings of chakra surrounded it, encircling the unsuspecting foreign ninja. Both Kitsune and Neko disappeared in a poof of smoke, the kage bunshin dispelling themselves.

The foreign ninja shouted their outrage at being tricked, none of them noticing the trap that was enfolding them like a venous fly trap until it was too late.

One of the more observant ninja pointed to the chakra strings, which were now domed around them, and his comrades tried hacking at them with kunai, katana, and various jutsu. As their combined force touched the seemingly delicate strings, it set off a chain reaction, and each strand exploded individually, harming nothing but the targets.

When the strings had all been obliterated, and all that was left of the enemy was tattered flesh and shattered bone, a small force of ANBU, lead by Kitsune, dropped from the trees above the clearing and checked for survivors. There were none.

They began to pick through the remains until the one with the dog mask, Inu, cried from his assigned search area, "Taicho, I found it, and it's mostly intact." He approached Kitsune and held up a slightly battered head, the ragged scar on its cheek proving it to be the target. All of the other ninja had just been in the way, thus had to be dealt with.

"Excellent." Kitsune said, reaching into a pouch on his calf and extracting a small scroll. He used his katana to slice his thumb and pressed it to the seal, and they put the head into the sealing scroll.

Kitsune slid the scroll back into its hiding place and nodded at his team. All five ANBU dashed off into the night, leaving behind the gory mess for the night time predators.

~~~~The Hokage Tower~~~~

Tsunade raised her head from her desk and called a drunken welcome to her midnight visitors. The spotless ANBU stood at attention in front of her desk, silently wondering how their Hokage could still be conscious with the copious amounts of alcohol she had consumed, if the amount of empty bottles around her desk were any indication.

"How was your mission, brat. I told you to come back, but did you listen to your dear big sister? Nooo~ooo!" she slurred, glaring at Kitsune, who only placed the sealing scroll on her desk in response. The ANBU in the wolf mask, Ookami, placed the mission report next to it, glad his mask hid his grin.

The ANBU then bowed and excused themselves, all but Kitsune.

After Tsunade was certain the young ANBU's team were out of hearing range, she seemed to sober instantly, and the glare she gave the fox masked boy this time was venomous.

"I told you to come back, not to finish your damn mission. I was worried about you gaki, and you disobeyed a direct order!" she hissed, and Kitsune grinned behind his mask.

"But, baa-chan, I can't just back out of a mission, and you of all people should know that. These people were going to raid one of Konoha's caravans, and had to be stopped. I didn't get hurt in any way at all." he told her, his voice sounding much younger than it did only moments ago.

He dodged her sudden punch easily, then allowed her to envelop him in a crushing hug.

"What if you had not seen one of them coming at you with a sword until it was too late, what if one of them henged as on of your team so he could attack you? What if-" she continued to voice unlikely outcomes, not noticing the boy in her arms was quickly fading from lack of oxygen. When she finally allowed him to pull away, the poor ANBU was half dead and gasping for air.

"So glad- cough- to know- cough gasp cough- you care!" he managed to gasp out. Finally he was able to breath normally and excused himself.

"I'm sorry, baa-chan, but, you know..." he wouldn't allow the excuse for his departure pass his lips for fear of someone listening, but Tsunade understood and waved him out, commanding him to get a good nights sleep for once in his life.

As the ANBU slipped out the window, the woman suddenly felt her age, and whispered sorrowfully to the empty room, "What would I do if you had died out there?"

She didn't get an answer because there wasn't one.

~~~~The Next Day: The Bridge~~~~

Naruto yawned as he leaned against the rungs of the bridge where Team 7 usually met, watching without interest as one of his team mates, Sukura, chased around the other, Sasuke, with the offer of a date. It was three hours after the time they were told to meet, and their jounin instructor had yet to show.

The blond boy gazed down at the icy river running below and contemplated a quick swim in the sub-zero waters to wake himself up. He dismissed the idea when, in a swirl of leaves, the team's sensei, Hatake Kakashi, finally made an appearance.

"You're late!" Sakura shouted, raising her fist in fury. Kakashi held up his own hands, palm out, in surrender.

"Maa, maa, Sakura, I was on my way here when a bunch of birds started to attack me, and I had to get away from them before I could come here!" was his excuse.

"LIAR!" Sakura's shout scared birds from their nests in the forest. Kakashi sweat dropped at her outrage, and glanced over at his unusually subdued blond haired student, who was still staring at the thunderous waters below.

"Ne, Naruto, what's the matter, cat got your tongue?" he teased, then grumbled when he was ignored.

Sasuke grunted, then glared at the oblivious blond too, as if the intensity of they're combined glares would get his attention.

Needless to say, it didn't.

A hawk suddenly flew over their group, screeching and swerving majestically. That caught the day dreaming boys attention, as he stared up at the wheeling bird. Kakashi glanced up, too, then looked back down at his students.

"Well, it's late, so I guess training is canceled for the day." he told them cheerfully. Sakura began to berate him for making them wait just for that, and Sasuke watched their sensei being insulted by the kunoichi with concealed amusement. No one noticed that Naruto had already walked off.

Once out of sight, Naruto's hands flew through the hand seals for the typical shunshin, and he disappeared from the street, only to reappear moments later in his spotless apartment. He bit his thumb and brushed it on a seemingly random part of his living room wall, and a compartment opened soundlessly.

Inside was two long black katanas, a pile of neatly folded black clothes, and, placed carefully on top of the clothes, the red and white porcelain fox mask.

Naruto walked into his bathroom, and walked out a short while later dresses in a black tank top that showed his ANBU tattoo, loose black pants made of a stretchable material, a pouch tied around his waist and another to his calf. The black katanas were strapped to his back, making them easy to reach. Naruto adjusted the fox mask carefully, and his blues eyes, which were wide and sparkling with innocence only moments before, were flat and merciless now, and gazed around the room coldly before he shunshined again, this time to the Hokage Tower

~~~~Hokage Tower~~~~

Kitsune appeared precisely in front of his team, and the masked greeted him silently, which he returned. The Hokage's office was filled with three other teams, all of which were older and taller than the fox masked boy, though they bowed respectfully to him. Experience was nothing without power, and though the young ANBU had less of the first than any in the room, he had more power than everyone else combined, and knew how to use it with deadly force.

The Godaime finally stood from behind her desk, and the friendly mood in the room grew somber.

"As you know, the Kazekage will be arriving soon with the genin from Suna to take the chuunin exams. I want all of you to watch any genin that seem suspicious, from any village. There are rumors that Orochimaru was not too happy about loosing his new toy before he got to play with it much. Watch for him. Any signs or even just suspicions, please report them to me or Shizune immediately. DO NOT attempt to engage him in battle. I don't want to lose any of you to his hands. Do I make myself clear?" Tsunade seemed to be glaring at one team, or more precisely, one person.

All of the ANBU nodded gently, and Tsunade announced that was all, and to get out of her office so she could do her paperwork. She chose not to notice the sweat drops on everyone's heads. Whoever believed she was actually going to do her paperwork was not very bright.

In seconds all of the masked people disappeared. Tsunade sighed and grabbed a sake bottle from under her desk. It was going to be a long day.

~~~~The Next Day: The Bridge~~~~

Naruto seemed to be back to his usual self, and immediatly picked a fight with Sasuke. The fight didn't last long, because suddenly, and unusually early, Kakashi jumped down from the trees.

"Ah, sensei, there you are." Naruto stopped fighting with Sasuke and turned to the silver-haired jounin. "Ne, sensei, I kind of don't want to, but I've got to go on a mission by myself, and won't be here for a week or two. Just thought I'd let you know." then the boy dispelled into a cloud of chakra smoke, not even the real thing, but a Kaga bunshin.

Kakashi shrugged and turned to his other students, giving the exact same excuse, and telling them that Yamato and Sai would be joining them for a while. Sasuke grunted and Sakura pouted childishly, both were wondering why the dobe, dead last, idiot got to go on a mission alone. Neither noticed that Kakashi had disappeared in another cloud of smoke, the bunshin leaving the two teenagers to fume alone.

~~~~Two Days Later: ANBU Headquarters: Noon~~~~

Kitsune finally sunk down into the hot bath after duty, glad for the room he was provided at ANBU Headquarters. He didn't have to pay exorborant prices for this that he did for his crappy apartment, and it wouldn't do for his genin team to see him leaving his apartment when he was supposed to be away.

A knock on his door drew him reluctantly away for his thoughts and his bath, and he wrapped a towel firmly around his waist and tied on his mask before opening the door.

Sakura could not believe that Tsunade had ordered her to come wake up some grouchy ANBU because he had forgotten to file his missions report, and knocked irritably on the door again. She gasped when it was flung open by a very wet, very well toned, and very young man. She stared with wide eyes at the man's fox mask, trying to keep them from wondering down the fox's body in fear of getting a nose bleed.

"U-uhm, Tsunade-sama wants you t-to file your report!" she managed to shout before running off, not hearing the laughter she would have found familiar echoing through the hall behind her.

Kitsune watched Sakura run off in amusement, then sighed and turned back to his room. He reluctantly emptied the tub and got dressed.

He shunshined to the Hokage Tower, ready to give the old lady a piece of his mind, and opened her office door to find a red headed man sitting across from Tsunade, apparently bored while listening to her drunken rant on how hard it was to be in charge.

The red head turned to Kitsune, and his green eyes widened slightly. He recognized the ANBU's chakra, but... that was impossible!

"Naruto?" he murmured, and Tsunade, apparently just now realizing that her audience had gone from one to two, grinned at Kitsune.

"Take off your mask, gaki, no secrets here!" she crowed, and Kitsune obliged, reaching behind his head for the ties, releasing the mask and revealing his whiskered face.

~~~~Meanwhile: At The Yamanaka Flower Shop~~~~

"No way, Kitsune is just a legend!"

"I'm telling you, the guy opened the door, and there he stood, naked, wet, and with a fox mask!"

"As much as I hate to agree with bill board brow, she's... hack cough hack... right." Ino said the last part dramatically, and the group all raised their eyebrows at her antics.

Choji and Shikamaru had been forced to come help at the store, and Tenten and Lee were looking around when Sakura had burst through the door, claiming to have just personally met _the Kitsune_, the prodigy ANBU that had earned the title of captain at age six.

When Ino realized her audience was not interested in her theatrics, she sighed and continued with what she was saying. "Yeah, my dad says he sees Kitsune and his team come in from missions sometimes, he says they're always assigned the hardest ones, yet they never come back with a scratch on them." she spilled the gossip, and the others looked sceptically, except Lee, who was shouting about the unbelievable amout of youthful flames the Kitsune had.

They never noticed Sasuke come into the flower shop, and the fact that he was now listening, a scowl firmly in place.

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Yep, that's all you're getting right now. It's so late, it could be called early here. I'll continue later if this gets some good feed back. If not, well, hey, I tried. (shrug) I had fun writing it, that's all that matters to me, but if y'all like reading it, then, hey, bonus. Ah, well (yawns) oyasumi nasai.


	2. Chapter 2

JEFUH-FUH! DUN-HAM! Dot com! ^^ I love peanut! He is the funniest pink wuzzle ever! I really need to stop drinking coffee! But… I love coffee… Maybe that's why I'm so short? Anyway, y'all probably don't care about my life, so let's go make Naruto suffer! Muahahaha! … Yep, that's enough coffee for me.

**_Title:_** _Protecting From The Shadows__**  
Pairing:**__ None… maybe later… if I feel like it__**  
Warnings:**__ I'M GONNA KILL SAKURA!!! I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Don't hurt me O.O X.__**  
Disclaimer:**__ If I owned Naruto, Sasuke would have a different haircut… and name. We all know what his name rearranges to._

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**_Chapter 2_**

No one noticed the Uchiha in the doorway as Ino went on to describe Kitsune's exploits, most of them exaggerated.

"They say he became an ANBU as soon as he could walk, and they also say he's only _our_ age! Personally, I thought it was Sasuke-kun until… anyway! He's invented a hundred S-class jutsus that only he can use, and-"

"-AS THE BLOOM OF YOUTH FOR KITSUNE IS UNBELIEVABLE!" Lee continued to shout until Ino threw an empty flower pot at him, hitting him square in the forehead and knocking him out.

"Gai clone, would you pipe it down?" she growled before turning back to her captive audience. They were too afraid to leave now.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted before striding back out of the shop, unnoticed by the others.

He remembered Kitsune. The ANBU had caught him and dragged him back to Konoha, it felt like a lifetime ago…

**_Flashback: 6 Months Ago_**

"_Uchiha Sasuke, I was sent by the Hokage to drag your sorry ass back to Konoha. Will you come willingly or do I have to break some of your precious little bones?" The ANBU effortlessly stood on the river he had been resting by._

_Sasuke jumped up and growled at the stranger. He was _not_ going back to Konoha before he killed his brother, and if he had to kill a few Konoha Nin before he achieved his ambition, then so be it._

"_The hard way, then? Good, I'm going to enjoy this more than you realize. You're a pain in the ass that needs some sense beat into you anyway." Kitsune called, and that comment did it. Sasuke charged up his cursed seal, and let it cover his body. Level one should be enough to deal with this idiot._

_Much to Sasuke's anger, the ANBU laughed gleefully. "Seems like your time away from the village hasn't cured you of that stick up your ass. In fact, I think it's shoved it deeper, I can see the end poking out of your mouth!" Kitsune told him, and suddenly disappeared, without hand seals or even the usual poof of chakra smoke._

_Sasuke frantically looked around, unwilling to be taken off guard. Where the hell was his team?!_

"_Oh, they're dead. They were annoying me, you know, with trying to kill me and all." THERE! Sasuke charged up his chidori and ran at a cluster of trees, where the voice had come from. The ANBU stood absolutely still in the middle of the cluster of trees, and Sasuke hit him easily, right in the middle of the chest. Arrogance was this man's downfall. At least, that was until the masked ANBU turned into just another tree, which split and cracked at the place where Sasuke had hit it._

"_Tsk, tsk. I'm sure your teacher Kakashi taught you to look underneath the underneath. And now you've used up one of your powerful attacks. One more, and your chakra will be exhausted!" the voice echoed throughout the whole forest, not radiating from one spot._

"_Show yourself, coward! I'm not afraid of you! I'll kill you, bastard!" Sasuke screamed at the entire forest, and the cursed seal went to level two, making him into a hideous monster, though he didn't care, he was more powerful!_

"_Ooh, is the big bad Uchiha going to get me? Wow, Sasu-chan, that's some bad plastic surgery, you should sue your surgeon. Get your money back or something." The ANBU appeared right in front of him, the fox mask grinning at him, mocking him. Sasuke charged with a roar._

_He never felt the small pinprick on his neck, nor did he hear four more people drop down from the trees. All he knew was darkness._

**_End Flashback_**

Now Sasuke knew the ANBU had been playing with him. Kitsune had brought him back to Konoha, but not before deactivating the cursed seal's level two.

Thinking back now, he realized something about the insults the ANBU threw at him playfully were somehow familiar. That itself was strange, the only person who dared insult the Uchiha was Naruto, and there was no way in Hell that the Dobe was secretly an ANBU. It was not only unlikely, but downright impossible!

Little did he know, across town, the dobe was proving him wrong.

~~~~Hokage Tower~~~~

"Good to see you again, Kazekage-sama. Hokage-sama, it is unbecoming of a lady to drink so much." The blond paused and grinned foxily, then continued, "Good thing you aren't one."

Gaara sighed when he had to move his head out the way of the sudden flying furniture, this time it was the Hokage's chair. Naruto caught it easily and set it down on the floor before perching in it himself.

He ignored the outraged tirade Tsunade was spouting, instead focusing on his red haired friend.

"So, Gaara, I trust we can cross any of the genin you brought with you as possibly being the snake-pedo? You would know if one of your brats started preying on little boys and girls. Right?" he asked, causing Gaara to smirk at the name he gave the rogue sanin.

"Yes, I personally vouch for all of the genin I brought with me, though that is not to say they won't cause some trouble. That speech you gave them about the proper way to prank when you were last in Suna struck, and they have gleefully been putting it to practice." He told the grinning ANBU.

"That's great! I hope they have been driving you up the wall. Though, before you met me, you already were pretty nuts. Mother wants your blood and all that, super creepy." Naruto shivered in mock horror.

"AND ANOTHER THING, NO ONE AROUND HERE RESPECTS ME PROPERLY! _I_ AM THE HOKAGE, AND DESERVE THE UMOST _~hic~ _R-E-S-P-E-C-T FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO ME~E!" Tsunade began to sing the respect song, and both teens winced at her terrible vocals.

"Excuse me, I think this meeting would be more effective if the Hokage was _not _drunk off her arse, so, after I go ask Shizune-nee-san to escort our _esteemed_ and _most respected_ Hokage home, would you like to join me for a walk?" Naruto had to shout over Tsunade's interesting song choice, and Gaara, who refused to shout, nodded his answer.

After he put his mask back on, Naruto walked over to the door, and without warning, flung it open, causing the woman who was standing there with her ear pressed to it to topple into the room.

"Shizune-san, would you be so kind to escort our inebriated Hokage upstairs to her suite, Kazekage-sama and I have something to discuss, which would be impossible with Tsunade-sama's current… volume." Somehow Naruto's voice sounded deeper, older, and Shizune stared up at him with wide eyes, her face red in embarrassment.

Not waiting for her answer, Kitsune gestured for the red head to follow him out the door.

~~~~In Naruto's Room~~~~

Naruto had showed Gaara his room in the ANBU quarters, and asked him to wait while he changed. Minutes later he walked out of the bathroom in his usual black and orange monstrosity, his ANBU mask and weapons in hand.

Gaara settled on the beige chaise lounge and watched his best friend move around the room, putting the weapons and mask in their proper place. "Naruto..." he started, unsure how to phrase his question. Naruto seemed to read his mind, though, and answered.

"I was in ANBU when you met me. Let me finish then I'll tell you the story." He called from the closet, and the red head nodded, though his friend couldn't see.

After he had put everything away, Naruto plopped down next to the Kazekage and began his tale, starting with his fourth birthday.

**_Flashback: Eleven Years Ago_**

_October 10__th__, his birthday, and a day he had long ago learned to fear. The villagers were always crueler on his birthday, and he usually holed up in his apartment, shivering in fear under a blanket. It didn't keep them from coming, but kept them from coming sooner, and, in the now four-year-old's eyes, that was better than nothing._

_It was around midnight when they finally pounded on his door, a mob of them, demanding the 'Demon's' extermination. This time the child had a plan, and as they burst into his living room, he swept out the window beside his bed, and headed towards the Hokage Tower. Jiji would protect him._

_Tears streamed down his whiskered cheeks as he streaked towards safety, the mob not far behind. _

"_Stop, Demon, and we'll put you out of our misery!" someone behind him shouted, and the rest roared their approval. Stones began to pelt his back and the area around him, but he kept running._

_Somehow, as he ran, he felt more power circulating his body, and something in his head growled. It shocked Naruto, but he kept going, nothing would make him stop just so the people could beat him to death._

"_**THEY THINK THEY CAN DESTROY ME! I'LL SHOW THOSE PUNY MORTALS!" **__ the voice was terrible and frightening and inside his mind, and Naruto thought a Yamanaka had joined the mob. That was his last thought as a power exploded from his body. He sank into darkness._

_~~~~Ten Minutes Later~~~~_

_Naruto awoke with a start, and was relieved to find he had somehow made it to Jiji's office. The Sandaime was sitting at his desk, staring at him with pity._

"_Jiji?" the child whispered, and Sarotobi nodded, and opened his arms so the blond could rush into them, clutching the white cloth and sobbing._

_After Naruto's sobs had died down, the Hokage pulled him into his lap. "Naruto, do you know what you did out there?" he asked the four year old, who shook his head, whipping away the tears he had shed. He didn't know why the old man looked relieved._

"_You somehow awakened your chakra. That's what knocked you out. Luckily an ANBU got to you before the crowd could. Naruto, your chakra wasn't supposed to be active until you are six, and the council…" he couldn't continue, so the child did._

"_They'll call for my death, call me unnatural. What am I gonna do Jiji? The ANBU can't save me from _them_." the tears started again, and an idea struck the Sandaime, it was risky, but it was their only choice._

"_Naruto, do you know how young they start ANBU training?" he murmured, knowing the child did._

_Naruto skimmed all of the books saved in his photographic memory, and found what he was looking for. "Usually around five or six in the case of ROOT, and sometimes regular ANBU will take apprentices that are my age or up. But most of the time ANBU is made up of jounin who were powerful enough and wel known enough to have to have an alias when they go out for missions. Such jounin as Hatake Kakashi, Ibiki Morino, Yugao Uzuki, Itachi Uchiha-" Naruto was going to continue, but the Hokage had laced a hand over his mouth, looking down at the child with wide eyes._

"_Where did you find out specific names?" the old man demanded, and the child muttered illegibly until the Hokage moved his hand._

"_You would be shocked at what information your secretary leaves alone on her desk, Jiji." He said simply, shrugging his thin shoulders._

_Sighing, Sarutobi beckoned to the shadows beside the door, and an ANBU moved out of them, his mask that of a weasel. Naruto hopped off of the Sandaime's lap and bowed to the new arrival._

"_Uchiha-san. Or would you prefer Weasel-san?" the boy asked, peeking out of his bangs. He stood up straight and stared right into the rotating comas that gave the teenager away._

"_Weasel, Uzumaki-san, is what I ask you to call me on the job." The Uchiha answered, grinning behind his mask._

"_Weasel, you said you wanted an apprentice, did you not? You even suggested you take on Naruto. I, as Hokage, now grant your request." Sarutobi told the masked boy formally, and smiled when Naruto's eyes widened and he stared at his surrogate grandfather in shock before his new teacher caught his attention._

"_Uzumaki-san, in order to join the ranks of ANBU, you need a codename. Do you need time to think about it?" Weasel asked, and Naruto shook his head._

"_Kitsune. For some reason, it just seems right." He answered instantly, and the Hokage shifted nervously. Itachi acted like that was exactly what he suspected._

_Naruto was taken up to ANBU headquarters, and out of a long wall of masks, picked the fox._

_He spent the next two years following his teacher's every order until he earned the right to be called a full-fledged ANBU operative, not finding out until much later that none of the civilians that had chased him that fateful night had made it out alive, nor that the ANBU that had carried him to the Hokage tower had, in fact, arrived after all of them were dead by a mysterious cause. None of them had any injuries._

_When he was seven he was told his teacher had betrayed all of Konoha, but he was in that meeting of the council and knew the truth. He told no one, though._

_~~~~Three Years Later~~~~_

_Kitsune stood protectively by the Hokage as the council was in session. He had been to many such meetings, and followed protocol, allowing the council to force him to swear a blood oath that anything he heard here would not be repeated._

_The last such meeting he had been to had involved his teacher, thus how he found out that his teachers and surrogate brother's actions were not his own. He held no affection for these pompous fools._

"_Sarutobi, it has come to the council's attention that the demon child has reached the age that he can attend the academy. Are you going to allow that monstrosity to poison the minds of our newest generation of ninja?" the head of one of the lesser clans demanded._

_The Hokage scowled before answering. "First off, he is not the fox, just its jailor, and second off, yes, I think he has just as much right to try for his hitai-ate as any of the children his age."_

_The council seemed outraged at his confidant response, but Kitsune tuned out the argument that followed, already execting the outcome._

_He and the Hokage had talked about this development not long ago, and had come to an understanding. Naruto Uzumaki would attend the Ninja Academy, but the council would probably set ridiculous limits that none of the other students would have._

_As it turned out, that was the actual outcome, and Kitsune would resume his civilian identity to keep up appearances, though the council did not even know he was already an ANBU, the Hokage just didn't tell them the blond was being trained. He would only be allowed to fail twice before being forced to remain a civilian for the rest of his life, and he knew the academy teachers would have orders to fail him._

_Too bad he was already an ANBU._

**_End Flashback_**

Gaara was silent through the story, but as soon as the blond was done, asked two questions that had been bothering him.

"So, how are you officially a genin now? And was the Uchiha a mission?"

Naruto grinned and reached over to pick up a picture on his bedside table, showing it to his friend. It was of Naruto in mid air, about to jump the brown haired chuunin Gaara had heard the blond call Iruka-sensei.

"Well, no matter how hard I worked, nor how perfect my scores were, I failed the first two times. The council of numbsculls had figured out they couldn't order the teachers to fail me, so they did the next best thing; they bribed my first two teachers. It worked, and they tried the third time, which as the first time I got Iruka-sensei. By that time I had figured out that no matter what I did I wasn't going to officially be a ninja, so I just stopped trying, and chose to do missions over class work. My grades were really low, but, for some strange reason, Iruka-sensei refused the bribe, and actually tried to get me to pass, though I didn't know at the time because I thought he was just another jackass. He didn't know about my limit, and by the time that genin exam came around, I was given a new mission, I was to ferret out the traitor that had infiltrated the Academy." Naruto told the story of Mizuki and Iruka, adding in his thoughts throughout the whole thing.

"And you won't believe how surprised I was when he put his own hitai-ate on my head and told me I had passed." He finished answering Gaara's first question, and used the time that Gaara was thinking it over to call one of the maids employed here to get them some drinks.

"All right, I get that, but that doesn't answer…" Gaara took a sip of his pomegranate juice and didn't finish his statement, but Naruto knew what he was going to say.

"I was getting there. If you would really think about it, I thought I wouldn't pass the Academy, and no one could tell Iruka-sensei who to put on what team, so, no, Sasuke wasn't a mission originally, but I sort of assigned him as a mission to myself. I, of course, couldn't allow him to even try to kill my sensei, but that didn't mean I couldn't help him get stronger, in both body and mind. But when he ran away, it was already the cursed seal thinking for him. I had to kill Orochimaru to destroy it."

"You killed the snake-sanin?" Gaara looked at Naruto in shock, who sighed and explained it like it was easy.

"Well, thanks to Sandaime-sama, he couldn't use his arms, so he was weakened immeasurably, and I got in by killing that idiot Kabuto, then hengeing into him and then nothing was stopping me from waltzing right up to that hebi-teme and slitting his throat. So he's out of the way. I don't want anyone to know because he _was_ a kage, so that's why Tsunade-baa-chan thinks he's on his way here, and why I asked if one of your brats could be him. All for show."

Gaara raised a non-existing eyebrow, but didn't say anything more on that subject, instead focusing on something that was not right. "I'm surprised you haven't dragged me to Ichiraku's for ramen."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Well, officially, Naruto Uzumaki is out of town on a solo mission, so I can't be seen walking around town, now can I?" Garra was going to answer when he was interrupted by knocking on the door.

"Kitsune-taicho, may I come in." the voice was strangely familiar to the Kazekage, and Naruto jumped of the bed.

"Kuso." He cursed, and Gaara asked who it was. "Right now he's known as Inu, he's on my team, but you know him better as Kakashi."

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Wow, suddenly this story is getting a lot of story alerts. Why is everyone paying attention to it now? Don't worry, people, I'll continue, and there will be action in the next chapter… I think. I don't know, I'm just winging it, this story is written off the top of my head. (shrug) Remember, reviews make the world go 'round! Oh, and before I forget, you'll find out more about how Kyuubi figures into Naruto's training... eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

Yep, I'm finally back peoples. I'm sorry it took so long, my computer imploded. I'm not kidding, it seriously blew up. I'm really glad it was the one I paid for, my dad likes to bbq, and would have slow roasted my ass if it was the he bought for me. Okay, so, chapter 3 of **_Protecting From the Shadows_**. On we go!

**_Title:_** _Protecting From the Shadows**  
Pairing:**__ You choose, just __GO VOTE__ on my profile**  
Warnings:**__ Written while high off coffee. Prepare for severe randomness**  
Disclaimer:**__ I don't own any of the characters from Naruto, but I do have Train Heartnet from Black Cat tied up in my closet. ^^_

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**_Chapter 3_**

**_Recap:_**

_Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Well, officially, Naruto Uzumaki is out of town on a solo mission, so I can't be seen walking around town, now can I?" Gaara was going to answer when he was interrupted by knocking on the door._

_"Kitsune-taicho, may I come in?" the voice was strangely familiar to the Kazekage, and Naruto jumped off the bed._

_"Kuso." He cursed, and Gaara asked who it was. "Right now he's known as Inu, he's on my team. But you know him as Kakashi._

_~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~  
_

Inu heard the occupant of the room curse loudly, then talk lowly to someone else.

"Are you all right, taicho?" he called worriedly

He stepped back when the door was opened by none other than the Kazekage.

"He's in the bathroom." was all the redhead said before stepping back and allowing the ANBU into the large room.

~~~~Naruto: In The Bathroom~~~~

Naruto groaned when he realized that he had only grabbed his mask, forgetting his uniform. The only clothes he had with him was the orange monstrosity,

"Kuso!" he muttered, and contemplated just going out there dressed like this, but knew that it would be recognized instantly. What to do, what to do?

He caught sight of a spotless white towel hanging on the towel rack. That would do nicely.

~~~~Kakashi: In the Room~~~~

Both men sat in silence, Inu feeling awkward, Gaara feeling bored. He didn't like the silver haired ninja. Even though the Uchiha had defected, choosing the power the snake pedophile could give him over his friends and village, the copy-nin still paid more attention to him than to Naruto.

Though the blond forgave the man, Gaara couldn't, and decided he could be angry enough for the both of them.

Kakashi shifted nervously when the redhead suddenly started pouring out killing intent, and was about to ask him about it when suddenly the bathroom door opened, and Kitsune walked out, nothing on but his mask and a towel tied around his waist.

Gaara's lips twitched when he realized why the ANBU had done that, and watched with secret amusement as the teenager walked to the closet and rummaged around for a minute before taking out a pile of black clothes. Still not even glancing in the direction of the other two nin, Kitsune made his way back to the bathroom.

It took a minute for Kakashi to snap out of his shock, but when he did he turned to the Kazekage with wide eyes... well... eye.

"What exactly were you guys doing before I got here?" he demanded.

If Gaara were anyone else, he would have laughed. Instead he settled for raising a non-existent eyebrow and murmuring, "We were talking. He was wearing civilian clothe he knew you would recognize, and went to change. He obviously forgot fresh clothes."

Kakashi took a moment to process that, and when he did, he picked up on something, and growled. "You know who taicho really is?"

"Well, I walked into a meeting between him and Hokage-sama, and he recognized my chakra signature. Hokage-sama also ordered me to reveal myself. Who am I to disobey a direct order?" asked a wry voice from the bathroom doorway, and both other men turned to see Kitsune, fully dressed, leaning against the door frame.

"You're you! You disobey direct orders all the time. Every mission the Hokage tells you to come back, and you ignore it! It's expected of you!" Kakashi explained frantically. Kitsune waited a moment, until Inu figured out he had just scolded his superior. "Oh... ah... crap." Was all the dog said to amend it.

Kitsune chuckled, and strode into the room with graceful confidence, bending down in his subordinates face, until Kakashi was looking straight into his eyes, which were turned red using only the slightest bit of Kyuubi's chakra.

"Inu, if you tell Neko about what you just saw, I will take your precious porn and hide it so you'll never find it. Or better yet, burn it to cinders." He told the man in a low, deadly voice.

The silver haired ANBU gasped in horror. "You wouldn't." He murmured, aghast. (AN: Still a great word! XD)

"I would. All you have have to do is tell that gossip, and you could consider it done." The younger ANBU captain told his subordinate, and Gaara could practically hear the sadistic grin that he knew was splitting across his friend's face.

Kakashi grumbled, but finally agreed that their teammate wouldn't hear about this from him.

Kitsune suddenly swung away from the older man, turning towards his closest friend. "Kazekage-sama, it looks like out discussion ends here. If it is all right with you, I would appreciate the chance to continue later." Addressing him formally for Kakashi's sake, a whole different conversation was being exchanged by their eyes. Gaara's lightly teasing, Naruto's exasperated.

Gaara smirked at the oblivious Inu, who was still pouting on the chaise lounge, and stood, motioning for Kitsune to follow him out the door and into the hallway.

"I'll meet you at our usual place Tomorrow at noon. If you can't make it, send Inu to tell me. I've been needing a new dummy for target practice." Gaara whispered to Naruto, who grinned at the rare burst of humor from the redhead that only he ever got to hear.

"No problem." He responded, and watched as his friend swept off, his formal Kage robes fluttering over the carpeted floor.

Inu walked out of the room moments later, eager to finally relay his message.

"Okay, Inu, what was so important that you had to intterupt my meeting with the Kazekage?" the blond sighed, already knowing what was coming.

"Kitsune-taicho, I was chosen to ask if you would be willing to participate in a spar with Neko, Ookami, Mizuhebi and I. The usual four-on-one. The price for losing is still the same on both sides." The dog announced formally, and Kitsune snorted.

It was a game his team had come up with, and they had been playing since he had been assigned to them. He knew who they were behind the simply painted animal masks, but none of them knew who he was, and thus, the game was born. If Kitsune won, the team had to do all of the mission reports for the following two months, and if they ever won, he would be forced to take off his mask, and finally reveal who he was.

Needless to say, Kitsune had yet to loose.

"Fine. Fine. The usual place, right? When do you guys want to do this? I need to know so I can reserve beds in the intensive care wing of the hospital for you." The ANBU captain sighed.

Inu had to stop himself from growling at Kitsune's obvious assurance that he would win. "Four hours from now." He stopped and thought for a moment before continuing, "Gives you plenty of time to run as far away as possible."

"Oh, don't you mean it gives you guys time to run, I have no intentions to run from a fight that I am sure to win." came Kitsune's quick reply, and Kakashi scowled, and waited for a snappy comeback to pop into his mind.

When nothing was forthcoming, he did the next best thing, and the same thing any grown ANBU would do in this situation, he flipped Kitsune off before storming back to his own room with a huff.

Kitsune stared at the place Kakashi had occupied only moments ago before bursting into boisterous laughter.

"F-flipped me the bird! Exceptionally mature, Inu!" He managed to gasp between his laughs.

Still laughing, he walked back into his room, pretending not to notice the familiar chakra signature coming from in front of Neko's door, in he hallway that branched from his

~~~~Sakura: ANBU HQ Hall~~~~

Sakura froze as an explosive, and familiar laugh filled the hallways. Her hand hovered inches from an ANBU operative's door. Another that forgot to turn in their missions report.

As the loud voice faded away, Sakura decided to get this done quickly so that she could report her findings to Ino.

Knocking briskly on the door, she waited impatiently. A few moments later, the door was thrown open with a growl by a tall, slender, raven haired woman wearing a cat mask.

"I was having a good dream, gaki. Whatever you have to say better be good." The woman warned, and Sakura shivered at the intense KI that rolled off the woman in waves.

"U-um... Hokage-sama asked me to tell you that the team captain evalutions are coming up, and that you and your teammates need to file your evaluations this time." Sakura stuttered, slightly frightened by this woman.

The woman scratched the back of her head. "Oh, yeah! We forgot to last time, didn't we...? Thanks, kid, though that could have waited." She closed the door in Sakura's face without so much as a good bye, and the pinkette sighed in relief before running off to go tell Ino what she just heard.

Naruto, who was supposed to be gone, was laughing in ANBU HQ.

~~~~Four Hours Later: Training Ground 7~~~~

Kitsune was the first to arrive, and looked around at the place he was supposed to have met his Chuunin team at only three hours before, if he wasn't undercover. Thinking about it, he sighed.

He hoped Sakura and Yamato confessed to each other soon. It was painful to watch them dance around each other, leaving hints as subtle as the Hokage Monument. How could Yamato not notice how close Sakura always stood to him, and How could Sakura not realize Yamato-taicho's obvious protectiveness of her was beyond him. Oblivious idiots.

Kitsune was snapped out of his thoughts when Ookami's and Neko's chakra signatures resounded through the area around him, announcing their arrival long before he could see them. They stood away from him, chatting about different things while he lost himself in thought again. They knew when their Taicho wanted to be left alone.

So the team captain evaluations were coming up? Interesting...

Mizuhebi arrived next, and went to join her teammates, and they waited impatiently for Inu, who, unlike his personality when he wasn't undercover, was not usually late. They couldn't talk strategy without him.

Finally Inu dashed into the clearing, giving an excuse that was far more believable than the ones Naruto had heard before.

Apparently Ishigame (turtle), whose civilian name was Mighto Gai, had cornered him in the training room, and demanded another rematch from his 'eternal rival'. Inu seemed too embarrassed to tell them exactly what the challenge was, but the others knew if it was that bad, they would know it in a few hours, thanks to the grapevine, so they spared him the mortification... for now.

Kitsune's team grouped together, getting further away from their captain, though they didn't know they were still well within his excellent hearing range, and began to discuss tactics that would possibly defeat the powerful teen.

Finally deciding on one, they broke apart, not knowing that Kitsune had already heard the plan and had puzzled out counter tactics.

Ookami made a quick Kage Bunshin to be referee, though its only real job was to shout start. The clone took its place between the two sides, and nodded.

All five ANBU slid gracefully into fighting stances that was unique to their styles.

"... 3... 2... 1! Hajime!" The clone shouted, and immediately all of them blurred out of sight, going too fast for the human eye to follow.

Kitsune shielded his chakra signature, and made three clones to even the field. Each clone was assigned a member to take care of, and dashed off to do their jobs, while the original did the same.

Meanwhile, Ookami settled down easily on a branch a few hundred feet away, and began to set up the traps that the others were going to box taicho into. He was the trap-master of the team, often the one that set the traps their prey was lured into, whether it be fatal or not. He smirked behind his mask as he set the last note down.

It was a trap similar to the one that was used in their last mission, though the webs would now only trap the victim, not kill him.

Ookami was too busy gloating over his own ingenuity to notice the small chakra signature that did not belong to the flora and fauna of the forest, and the clone closed in on his quarry.

"One down." The clone said simply, and Ookami spun to look at him. He was barely in time to dodge the senbon that would heve knocked him cold, and sent a flurry of his own, which the clone avoided easily.

"Good, this wouldn't be as fun if you didn't fight back, even though it's pointless." The clone taunted, knowing that the big man was easily angered, and got sloppy while angry.

"What? Why you little-" Ookami roared, not even bothering to aim the wave of kunai he threw. The clone managed to get away from most of them, but one skimmed his arm, shallowly cutting through his flesh. With a hiss of pain, the bunshin launched himself straight up into a tree, followed closely by Ookami.

The man did not stop to realize Kitsune was luring him into his home territory, where the fox had the advantage. The bigger man blundered slightly while the small teen flipped easily from branch to branch, not bothering to take the openings that were presenting themselves to him. It wouldn't be as fun if Ookami was taken care of too early.

"Get back here, gaki!" Ookami didn't realize he was insulting his captain left and right, and if he did that to anyone else, he would be punished severely. Kitsune's clone let it go, though. Ookami got careless when he was angry.

A loud humming echoed through the forest, followed by a flash of pure light, and both ANBU cursed and turned back towards the trap, the fight forgotten for a moment. None of the Kitsunes had stumbled into the trap, which meant either a very frightened animal or a very ticked shinobi was stuck inside the dome of glowing strands of light.

The latter was true. Standing in the middle of the dome, all with varying levels of anger on their faces, stood Chuunin team 7, probably coming back from training.

Yamato and Sai spotted the two men, and both bowed to the teen on the other side of the webs.

Sai straightened and said, "Kitsune-taicho, I should have realized you were behind this. After all, it is your team's most famous method."

Kitsune nodded, and Ookami dispelled the jutsu. He groaned, knowing that the notes used to make up the trap were useless now, as they could only be used once before combusting.

Kitsune's clone dispelled in a puff of chakra smoke as the real one stepped into the clearing, followed by the rest of the team.

Sasuke and Sakura were both focused on the young captain, Sakura with amazement, Sasuke with recognition, and gratitude that he would never admit to, under pains of torture.

"I apologize for the inconvenience my team has caused you." Kitsune said formally, bowing to the shinobi that were imprisoned moments before.

"Actually you helped us. It looks like this damn cat is too scared to scratch me anymore." Sasuke muttered, holding up the cat Daimyo's wife's cat, that huddled into his chest in fear.

Kitsune grinned behind his mask, glad that he had gotten out of that particular mission. Turning towards his team, he announced, "This spar ends in a tie, so neither side lost. You won't be able to challenge me for a month, as we agreed to. You are dismissed."

The ANBU's voice sounded familiar to Sasuke, but he couldn't for the, life of him, remember why. Sure, this was the operative that dragged him back, but his voice was familiar for a different reason than that.

The four other ANBU all sighed and nodded, before their hands all flashed in the hand seals for a shunshin, and they disappeared. Kitsune faced the two Chuunin and two undercover ANBU operatives again.

"I will escort you to the tower, I need to tell the Hokage something anyway." He told them, and both Sai and Yamato were surprised. Kitsune was infamous in the ANBU grapevine for his desire to remain a ghost within the organization, and could easily just have left with his team. Yamato agreed, though, and they set off through the trees.

Sasuke watched Kitsune out of the corner of his eye, still unable to figure out his dilemma.

Sakura also watched the young captain, unable to dismiss her suspicion. It was impossible, yet everything between them was so similar. The way they jumped as they navigated through trees, the easy way he kept pace with Sasuke, and the lock of golden hair that slipped from the hood. Not to mention the facts that just as one leaves, the other appears, and that when she was at ANBU HQ, his laughter echoed through the halls. Impossible unless...

Kitsune was Naruto.

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(spastic giggling) Do y'all think Kitsune can convince her otherwise? Maybe, maybe not. I know y'all want to kill me for stopping there, but you can't. Why? Because I'm the only one who knows what happens next! X3 Kakashi just doesn't realize who it is because he refuses to believe the guy who was subjected to '1000 Years of Pain' could beat his albino hiney into the ground. Oh, that brings me to my announcement. Kakashi is an albino. I mean, he's paler than I am, and I'm the color of a sheet, he has white hair, and a red eye (though it wasn't originally his, but humor me here, people). Well, I'm gonna go work on the next chapter of my other story! Hasta la bye bye!


	4. Chapter 4

I'm soooooo sorry! I've got valid excuses, but if you want to read it, you'll have to go to my profile, because I really don't want to type it three times! Before I start, I have to tell y'all something! Okay, the poll on my profile for this story will be closing in three days, so get to votin'! After the poll is gone, I'll need a bit to think up a way to set up the winning couple in a plausible way. If you want your couple to win vote vote vote! Well... you can only vote once, but you know what I mean! And if you choose 'other' on either HET or Yaoi, please send me a PM specifying what 'other' couple you would prefer. Okey doke, on we go!

_**Title:**_ _Protecting From the Shadows_

_**Pairing:**__ Vote on it. I won't know your opinion unless you tell me!_

_**Warnings:**__ Don't really know... slow, sporadic updates?_

_**Disclaimer:**__ (Monotone) I am not Masashi Kishimoto. There! I said it! Now give me my damn plushies back, Kishimoto!_

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_**Chapter 4**_

_**Recap:**_

_Sakura also watched the young captain, unable to dismiss her suspicion. It was impossible, yet everything between them was so similar. The way they jumped as they navigated through trees, the easy way he kept pace with Sasuke, and the lock of golden hair that slipped from the hood. Not to mention the facts that just as one leaves, the other appears, and that when she was at ANBU HQ, his laughter echoed through the halls. Impossible unless..._

_Kitsune was Naruto._

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The more Sakura looked at the ANBU captain, the more he reminded her of the obnoxious blond that was absent. She watched as Kitsune caught up with Sai, keeping pace with the other teen.

That reminded her, ever since Sasuke's defect, Naruto seemed to get closer to the 'undercover' ANBU than he ever had with Sasuke, she often saw them walking together, the blond talking, the raven listening intently. Sasuke and Naruto had never been seen together outside of training.

Sai thought silently for a second, then smirked over at the teen beside him. "So, Kitsune-taicho, you're well connected to the missions office, do you, by chance, have any idea when Naruto Uzumaki will be back from his solo mission?" He asked loud enough for the others to hear. Kitsune scowled at Sai's obvious flaunting of his knowledge.

"From what I hear, most of those sent out on solo missions last week are due back tomorrow. Chances are, you friend is among those on their way back." He answered formally, though the glare he shot his friend promised pain.

Sai remembered how he found out that the legendary Kitsune, Konoha's cooldest blooded assassin, was in fact, Naruto, Konoha's loudest and most unpredictable ninja.

_**Flashback: 1 year, two months, and 1 day and 1/2 ago**_ (A/N: Don't ask. Really, don't. ^^U)

_As he was ordered, Sai spent two weeks spying on chuunin Sakura Haruno and genin Naruto Uzumaki before he was officially assigned to their team._

_Sakura's life was boring, to say the least. She spent most of her time staring at herself in the full length mirror in her bedroom, or arguing with the blond haired girl Ino, or beating on her poor teammate._

_Naruto, on the other hand, was interesting. By day he kept to the schedule of a normal genin, though he often trained alone. At night, however, he performed the bunshin jutsu he was most famous for. The clone was left on the young ninja's bed, sleeping, while the original slipped out of his window into the night._

_Of course Sai had tried to follow him, but somehow the genin was able to shake him off before they reached the blond's destination, leaving the art nin with no idea where the other went._

_Finally, at the end of the week, at half past three in the morning, the clone Naruto left behind dispelled itself suddenly as Sai watched it. He had decided to come back to the apartment to see if the boy was back after he lost him. This shocked the raven out of his light doze, and he stared intently into the dark apartment. There was a light feeling of alien chakra, then the small building was flooded with the blond's chakra signature. But, there was no one in the dank apartment._

_Movement drew Sai's eyes upward, and there, perched on the highest eave, staring silently up at the full moon, was a man the young Ne operative had only heard tales about, someone, he was sure, didn't even exist. The fox masked ANBU Captain, Kitsune._

_The captain slowly looked away from the moon, and met the onyx eyes of the astonished teen. As Sai looked, he realized that the eyes he met were a crystal clear blue._

_The next thing he knew, it was morning, and Kitsune was gone._

_Sai blinked in confusion. He knew he didn't fall asleep, and he wasn't aware of the passage of time. What the hell happened?_

_He sighed as he leveraged himself out of his uncomfortable perch, his mind whirring. Blue eyes, strange schedule, the chakra signature. It all made a strange sort of sense, he supposed._

_No real ninja, intent on gaining the title of Hokage, would wear such an eye searing orange, or talk so loudly, even on a mission, or train so hard with no real results... unless... it was all a show. An act to throw off suspicion. No one would watch such an idiot too intently. In reality, there was no Naruto Uzumaki, just a character in a very convincing play. The actor was Kitsune. _

_What bothered Sai, though, was that if this was all so obvious, why was he the only one to have put it all together? The blond had had a sensei for months who was also part of ANBU, yet it seemed the man was oblivious._

_Unless... that's exactly what Naruto wanted. Kakashi knew, just as anyone who had their ear to the ground did, that Kitsune was supposedly among the Rookie 9... er... 8._

_Naruto was an extraordinary idiot, and if Kakashi ever suspected him, he probably just cast that suspicion aside, some one that stupid could not possibly be the efficiently silent killer that Kitsune was said to be. _

_And so, the facade of Naruto Uzumaki was perfect._

_That is, until weeks later, when Sai, who had officially been made a part of Team 7, took the blond deep into the woods away from the others, and announced what he knew._

_Before the raven knew what was happening, a deadly sharp kunai was pressed lethally against his throat, and he looked straight into the coldest eyes he ever hoped to see. Naruto, who had been standing ten feet away before, was now in his face, covering the distance in a fraction of a second._

_"Who else knows?" Naruto hissed, voice very unlike his usual boyish tones._

_"W-what?" Sai gasped, though he was silently wondering what this new emotion was. It coiled in his stomach, making him feel nauseous. He wanted to run from this boy. He mentally glanced over the books he had read, and finally identified it. Fear._

_"Who have you told, Ne dog? Did you tell that scum Danzo? Those blathering idiots on the council? An enemy, perhaps?" The kunai pressed harder, drawing a trickle of blood._

_"N-no one! I was going to confront you first!" The raven announced, as panic mixed with fear. He may have been trained not to feel, but human nature trumps training._

_"Then tell me why I shouldn't end your life here, to keep it that way?" The blond demanded, but the feeling of the weapon against his throat softened. "I have permission to kill whomever I think is a threat to the safety of Konoha. Who do you think they'll believe, Kitsune, respected ANBU captain, or a corpse?"_

_"I-I have no reason, except that I will not tell." Sai murmured, and the weapon disappeared as Naruto stepped back, looking him over with shrewd eyes._

_"I guess I'll have to believe you, if only because Sakura and Yamato-taicho would get suspicious if you vanished while we were alone. But know this. If I find out that you have told anyone, your life, as well as the life of the one you told, is forfeit."_

_Sharp, cold eyes transformed to the wide, innocent blue of before when Sakura's voice echoed through the woods, calling for them._

_"Well, let's go, _Sai-san_."_

_**End Flashback**_

It had taken months to get the blond to fully trust him, but, looking back, Sai realized it was worth all of the work. He now had a friend whom he could trust beyond all doubt.

At first, he had toyed with telling Danzo-sama, or the council, whom, Naruto had told him unknowingly, had no idea of the other's true identity. But he knew that Naruto's threat was not idle. If his record as Kitsune was anything to go by, he _would _kill them. And Sai couldn't take that chance.

So he found himself trying to prove himself to the blond, working for his trust, rather than avoiding the one who so calmly threatened the lives of those who were on the council.

At first he convinced himself that he only wanted the ANBU's trust so that he could use that connection, but after a while that excuse just wore too thin, and he had to face the truth that he wanted Naruto's trust and friendship.

And finally he had it, three months after their initial encounter, and two months before Kitsune managed to drag the Uchiha back. His first true friend, since his older brother, and the only person he could talk to without the restrictions of protocol and secrecy.

"Sai. Keep laying out clues like that, and I will personally skin your hide." Kitsune growled lowly to him, where only he could hear. Sai grinned at his friend, then they sped up, caught in an impromptu race.

Sakura caught up with Yamato-taicho, who was watching the speeding pair as she was.

"Taicho," She called his attention to herself, "I didn't know that Sai had such powerful friends... Did you?" The way the two were acting were cementing her suspicions, but she wanted Yamato's thoughts.

"I didn't know, Sakura, and frankly, I don't understand it. Kitsune-taicho is famous for being antisocial, and supposedly only trusts his team." The new Team 7 leader told her, as he lost sight of the two speeding teens.

Sasuke caught up with the two, breathing heavily. Even Orochimaru didn't push his speed to the level these two were playfully exhibiting. Maybe it was good he came back to Konoha.

Kitsune noticed the raven, and smiled ferally behind his mask.

"Uchiha-san, long time no see. Conscious, anyway." He called, and Sasuke scowled.

"Na- Kitsune! I'm winning!" Sai shouted, and Kitsune sped up, leaving behind the irritated raven before he could respond.

Sasuke caught Sai's 'slip'. _'Na? Who the heck is Na? Nami... Nadi... Nato... Naruto?'_

The thought was so odd, so impossible, that he dismissed it immediately. Maybe it was just because Sai was used to Naruto being the fifth member of their group...?

"That was intentional, you prick." Kitsune growled, easily catching up to the scantily dressed boy.

"At least I have one. You are sadly lacking." The other bantered, but Naruto one upped him.

"How would you know, have you been peeking at me in the hot springs? Of course, if you have, you would know how _very_ wrong you are."

Both teens continued to banter until they reached the Hokage tower, the three other shinobi far behind them.

Naruto waited for them to arrive, then bowed to them, thanking them for allowing him to accompany them. Sakura blushed, pleased. Sasuke scowled and 'hn-ed'. Sai and Yamato bowed back.

As Kitsune disappeared to the Hokage's office, Team 7, minus two of the regular members, made their way to the missions office. Sai ignored the questions shot at him, mostly from Sakura, though Yamato tried and failed a subtle inquiry.

They delivered the report of their successful mission, then seperated. Sai made sure none of his team mates were watching him, then made his way to Naruto's rooms in ANBU HQ to wait for his friend.

~~~~Naruto: Hokage's Office~~~~

Even though she was 'indisposed' only hours before, Tsunade sat calmly at her desk, her chair back where it belonged, under her butt.

"Hokage-sama." The younger blond bowed respectfully, and the woman sighed.

"Sit down, Naruto, and take off that dang mask. You calling me that makes me feel older than when you call me baa-san. Why the heck is that?" She complained.

Naruto slid into a chair, and reached behind his head for the ties to his fox mask, but stopped when he sensed his team's chakra signatures perched just outside the window.

Tsunade sensed it too, and grinned.

"A very curious team you command, Gaki. Or is nosy the word?"

"Tell me about it." Kitsune grumbled, casting a grumpy glance at the offending window. The team, knowing they had been discovered, slipped through the small window one at a time, bowing deeply to the Godaime before turning to their Taicho as one.

"Can you blame us for wondering who the guy we're supposed to trusts our lives with truly is?" Neko complained. The other's nodded in agreement.

"That's just it. If you knew, you _wouldn't_ trust me." Kitsune told them, all of them forgetting they where they were. Tsunade dug a bottle of sake from under her desk and sat back to enjoy the show.

"Why wouldn't we trust you. No matter who you are behind the mask, that doesn't change the fact that you saved our sorry butts more times than we can count." the normally quiet Ookami murmured, and the other's shouted their approval.

"A hint, then?" Inu wheedled.

Kitsune sighed, knowing that he wouldn't get out of this without giving them that much. "Fine. First, tell me what you know about me, that way I'm not just giving you repeat information."

They all thought, and Tsunade shot the squirming captain a sympathetic glance. He was in a loosing battle. Eventually Inu, Ookami, Mizuhebi, and Neko would figure it out. The only question was, once they found out he was the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, would they treat him the same, or would they shun them as they did in their every day lives?

"I heard that you're a member of the Rookie 9." Ookami finally said.

"You are undoubtedly young enough." Mizuhebi added.

"Though it's obvious you're not the Uchiha, unless you are a master in clones." Neko announced, and they could all hear the disgust in her voice. She made it no secret how much she detested the boy.

"Is that all you know about my life behind the mask? Not my favorite food, or color? You're making this easier than I thought." Kitsune said.

"Of course we wouldn't know either of those, nobody does!" Inu announced angrily.

"Okay, I'll tell you that, then, but don't ask me for more, that's already one more than you demanded. My favorite food is spicy sushi, made with salmon. My favorite color is red. But remember this, just because those are my favorites, doesn't mean you'll find me scarfing sushi or decked out in scarlet. Now if you'll excuse me, a friend of mine is waiting for me in my rooms." Gloved hands flew through the hand seals, and the teen disappeared in a flash of fire that didn't even singe the fabric of the chair he was perched in moments before.

Tsunade barked out laughter. They would never guess with those hints. Her Gaki was either evil or a genius. Hopefully not both, else Konoha was screwed.

"Damn. We should have just specified the hint, like what kind of summons he has. I've never seen it." Neko growled.

The older blond woman decided to tip the scales a bit. Besides, Naruto needed these people to trust him.

"He has two. I won't tell you what they are, because that would just be _too_ easy." She answered.

"Two?! How is that even possible?" Inu cried. Then, realizing he had just shouted at the Hokage, he cowered slightly, tensing to be ready to dodge any flying furniture. None came. Tsunade just waved her had loftily.

"Go away, you guys are buzz kills." She ordered, and she didn't have to say it twice. All four ANBU scrambled, two out the window, two opting to shunshin.

Tsunade sat back in her chair with a sigh. If they shunned Naruto when they found out, like they did now, she would have four very powerful ANBU to get rid of, so they couldn't spread the knowledge. She really hoped she had made the right choice.

~~~~Naruto and Sai: Naruto's Room~~~~

"I still can't believe that Kakashi-san hasn't guessed yet. It is really obvious once you think about it." Sai said, as he watched Naruto move around the room, doing what he called packing, but what Sai called throwing shit into a suitcase.

"Well, you only guessed because you didn't know me before you realized it. My facade doesn't look as good on paper. Or from afar, for that matter." Naruto's voice, muffled by the wall between them as he rummaged in the bathroom, called.

"Good point. But isn't he trained to look behind masks like yours?" The Ne operative asked.

"So am I, which makes it easy for me to make one he _can't_ see behind. You just never got to see it." Coming back into the main room, Naruto tossed a small pile of clothes into the suitcase perched beside the raven, on the bed.

"Doesn't excuse him, though." Sai grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. But if you hadn't seen my eyes that night, you would still be in the dark, as he is." The blond told him, plopping down on his other side.

"You still haven't told me how you hypnotized me like that." Sai complained. He was going to continue, but froze as both of them felt a familiar chakra signature made its way down the hall. "W-what is Sakura doing here?" He questioned. Naruto didn't even look at him, relaxing into the mattress.

"It's her job to come get the ANBU who forgot to file their report, or to give them announcements or summons from the Hokage, don't wo-" He paused when he felt Sakura stop in front of his door. She seemed to deliberate for a second, before she pounded ominously on the door.

What she shouted, though, sent both boys out of their skins.

"NARUTO UZAMAKI! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! I KNOW YOUR SECRET! COME OUT RIGHT NOW BEFORE I BREAK THIS DOOR DOWN!!!!"

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Hehehe, you get me back, and I give you this piece of crap chapter. Ah, well, I still have two other stories to update, so please don't kill me. remember, you can find my excuses on my profile, where you can also find my poll, which will be closing in three days from the time I post this. Well, places to go, people to turture, you know, the usual. Hasta. ^^/


	5. Chapter 5

Hehe, I now I said I was going to update _**Time Marches On**_ first, but inspiration suddenly struck for this story. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, the poll is closed, and I was rather surprised with the winner. Not that I don't like that pairing, in fact, that's one of my favorites, it's sudden win just kind of surprised me... Okay, on with the story!

You know what, screw the title thing, if you don't know by now, then you weren't paying attention to it in the first place! Right?

Disclaimer: I own Naruto plushies, Naruto posters, a Naruto headband or two, and a night cap that looks like Naruto's, but I don't own the only thing that would complete the collection, Naruto. Damn.

_**Chapter 5**_

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_'WHAT THE...?! HOW THE...?! AHH!!! I CAN"T HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED!!!!' _Kitsune panicked as Sakura kept up her pounding on his door, trying to make good on her promise to knock it down, though the weathered mohagany was putting up a good fight.

Sai watched his friend for a minute, amused at the loss of the cold assurance that always seemed to surround the teen.

"NARUTO UZUMAKI, I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR **NOW**!!!!" Sakura screamed from the other side as te door gave an ominous moan. Sai, tired of the banshee yells, grabbed the panicking blond by the collar of his shirt as he ran by again, and thrust the orange monstrosity into his hands.

The porcelain ANBU mask clung to Kitsune's neck, and the raven grabbed it. Naruto looked completely confused, his brain shut down in panic.

"Take off your clothes, idiot, and put on that damn automatic seizure. I'll be Kitsune, and you'll be Naruto." Sai explained, and watched as understanding flitted over his friends tan features. He disappeared into the bathroom, coming out only moments later, the eye searing jumpsuit in place, along with the idiotic grin. He tossed the black outfit at Sai, who went to change while Naruto threw open the dented and cracked door.

Sakura jumpe back with a triumphant grin. "AH HAH! I knew it was you, though I don't know how you did it! I knew it! I KNEW nobody could really be that stupid!" She crowed, and Naruto looked confused.

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" He asked innocently. He stepped aside so that the pink haired girl could barge in.

She looked around for a second, then motioned to the otherwise empty room. "This is Kitsune's room? What are you doing here if he's not here? Unless you _are_ Kitsune?" Sakura demanded.

Naruto, who felt he was playing his part perfectly, pointed to the bathroom. "Foxy-san is in the bathroom." He grinned mischievously, and whispered conspiratorially, "He has a bad case of gas." Why make this easy for Sai?

Sakura didn't look convinced, but Naruto watched in amusement as thin arms entwined around his waist from behind. So Sai wanted to make it look like _that_.

"Now, Naru-san, it's rude to hand out personal information." Sai had changed his voice patterns to match the ones Naruto used as Kitsune.

"But, Foxy-san, she's a medic-nin, maybe she has some Beano on her." Naruto responded, and the arms disappeared as Sai/Kitsune made it into his view.

"B-b-b-b-b..." Sakura seemed to have lost the ability to make coherent words, and resorted to stuttering and pointing.

"Sakura-chan, this is Foxy-san, he helped me when I was little. Foxy-san, my teammate Sakura Haruno, a chuunin who is training under baa-chan." The blond was having fun now, gesturing grandly to each of them. He turned to Sakura, with a serious look on his face. "Sakura, I'm not kidding, please say you have some Beano, else it's gonna get potent."

Sakura finally seemed to come back to herself, and Naruto found himself with a steaming red lump on his crown, testimony to his friend's short temper.

"Naruto, you baka, we already know each other, and why the hell would I have Beano?" She shouted, and turned to Sai/Kitsune with a pleasant smile. "I'm sorry I accused you of being this idiot, there's no way in hell he'd be able to pull it off." Grabing the whimpering blond by the ear, she dragged him out, calling behind her, "We'll just leave you alone now!"

The door closed behind her, miraculously still on its hinges, and she walked straight into another ANBU's chest. Jumping back, she rubbed her nose while spouting apologies. The ANBU watched her drag Naruto away, and down the hall, before turning to the door she had just exited.

Just as he was about to knock, the door swung open, revealing Sai, now dressed in his own clothes. Both ninja, blinked in surprise. Sai looked into the Inu mask of one of Kitsune's teammates, and if he was correct, this would be Kakashi, the idiot who had yet to discover the secret. He smiled insincerely.

"Ah, hello, ANBU-san. I'm sorry to say that Foxy-san isn't in right now." He told the silver haired man, who scowled behind his mask.

"Then what, _Ne-san_, were you doing in his room?" He demanded. Though Kakashi had grown to like the perverted young man, his persona was supposed to be mistrustful of Ne operatives. Besides, if Kitsune wasn't in, what was Sai doing in his room?

"Well, I _was _waiting for him, but Sakura came and got angry at me and Naruto. I don't know why, we were only gonna prank him a little bit, but apparently she found out, no matter how hard we tried to keep it a secret, and came to stop us. She just dragged Naruto away, and I was about to go to. I might have to save him." Sai said, after a striking moment of genius. That would explain his presence, Sakura's shouting, and the two teens' exit all in one. He silently congratulated himself.

"Why is it that I find it hard to believe you were here for a simple prank?" Inu questioned. Sai just sent him another annoying fake smile.

"Because you are a distrustful dickless ANBU." He left the man frozen in the doorway, striding calmly away, ignoring the slowly growing killing intent focused on his back.

~~~~With Naruto: The Hokage's Waiting Room~~~~

"Are you dating Kitsune?" Sakura demanded in a fierce whisper. She had pulled Naruto to a corner of the room, and tugged him down into a crouch. Naruto mentally sweat dropped, hoing this seriously wasn't her idea pf subtle.

"He wishes. I wouldn't date someone with such bad gas, though." He told her, grinning. He knew Sai had condemned him to being torn to shreds in the rumor mill. Both of himselfs. He would have to come up with a way to... _repay_ him properly. But for now, he had a crisis to divert. "By the way, Sakura-chan, do you have bad gas?"

Another steaming lump joined the first on the top of his head, and he whimpered while she got up and left him with a huff. He was still groaning on the floor when Sai found him.

"Hey, dickless, follow me." The raven commanded, and though the blond was growling irratantly, he followed the other boy into the bathroom, making sure no one was watching. Sai released Naruto's ANBU uniform, mask, and weapons from a a sealing scroll, and handed them to his friend, who unabashedly began to strip.

"I saw Inu heading your way. How'd you manage to come away from that with your head still attached?" Naruto asked though his shirt before it joined his jacket on the ground.

"Well, I told him you and I were there to prank Kitsune, and that the bitch found out and stopped us." Sai answered, handing him the fishnet shirt that went under everything.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at the raven with a grin. "Explained all of it away with one explanation. Sometimes you almost seem smart." He dodged the punch that was thrown in his direction, but caught the pants that followed.

After he had finally tied on his mask, Sai peeked out the door. With a jaunty wave, he left the young ANBU, who exited minutes later, right into Inu's arms.

Both stumbled back. Kakashi, who was already pretty irritated, almost yelled at the person for not watching where he was going, but froze when he saw who it was.

"K-kitsune-taicho. I'm sorry, I didn't sense you." He apologized, and Kitsune waved them away.

"I heard you were looking for me earlier, Inu. What's up?" He asked instead. Kakashi paled under his mask. He had only gone to see if Sakura had outed his captain, though he turned out wrong.

"Oh, uh, well..." He was relieved when the young captain held up a hand and looked at the watch that he was issued, with a silver stripe down the middle, one of the many signs signifying his position in the ranks of ANBU.

"I'm sorry, Inu, but I must go." It was time for Naruto Uzumaki to make a reappearance in the world. Word would be getting out from Sakura that he was back, and he had to beat it to the streets. First stop? Ichiraku's. He sighed when he realized he now had to take of the seven layers of clothes he had just put on. So, leaving his subordinate, he made his way back up to his rooms, ready to become Naruto Uzumaki once again.

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Yep. I felt like writing this chapter because inspiration struck, though it won't be seen for a while. I'll give you a hint. It involve Kyuubi and I Love Lucy... yeah, really, not as bad as it sounds. Any~who, I'm going to bed. Oyasumi Nasai!


	6. Chapter 6

(Bows) I'm soooo sorry, I meant to update before this, but- um- hold on… (opens a book titled _Random Excuses_) Ah, yes, my dog got ran over. What?! My baby got ran over?! NOOOOOOO!

Disclaimer: Is it possible to base a story completely off of hot yaoi smex? Not unless it's the yaoi version of Icha Icha Paradise. And if I owned Naruto, that's exactly how it would be. =^.^=

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_**Chapter 6**_

**Recap**

_"I'm sorry, Inu, but I must go." It was time for Naruto Uzumaki to make a reappearance in the world. Word would be getting out from Sakura that he was back, and he had to beat it to the streets. First stop? Ichiraku's. He sighed when he realized he now had to take of the seven layers of clothes he had just put on. So, leaving his subordinate, he made his way back up to his rooms, ready to become Naruto Uzumaki once again._

_~.~.~.~.~  
_

Naruto plopped himself down on the stool minutes later and greeted Teuchi and Ayame cheerily. The first people to ever accept him held a close place in his heart, and the fact that they made ramen was only a plus. He would have come here just as often if he hated the food with a passion.

"Naruto-kun, welcome back." Ayame said as she set the steaming bowl of Naruto's usual order in front of him. "How was your mission?"

She didn't notice the slight pause as Naruto seemed to suddenly remember something, but then the boy shouted, "It was great, Ayame-nee-chan! I got to do a solo mission, without Sasuke-teme!"

The older girl just smiled and turned to another customer that had walked in, leaving the ninja to his thoughts.

'_Every time I spend a long period as 'Kitsune', it gets harder and harder to slip back into the 'Naruto' persona!'_

_**.:Then why separate the two?:. **_The voice was unexpected, but not unusual. Naruto showed no outward reaction.

'_Because, Kyuu, if I suddenly start acting differently, I'll find myself in a one on one session with Ibiki.' _Naruto grinned as he felt the demon mentally shiver.

_**.:I don't care that I'm supposed to be a fearless monster, that man's tactics scare the shit outta me!:. **_The demon proclaimed. The blond snickered, catching the waitress' attention.

"What's so funny, Naruto?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing, Ayame-nee-chan, just thinking of a prank I can pull on Sasuke-teme later." Naruto responded without missing a beat. The young woman just smiled and shook her head.

_**.:Although that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea…:. **_Kyuubi intoned, providing a series of images of Sasuke in traps and pranks for his kit's enjoyment.

Naruto was brought out of his conversation with his mentor when the shout of "Found him!" echoed around the street, and moments later he was surrounded.

"Naruto, when did you get back?" Ino, who had glued herself to his side, asked.

"Ah, actually, about an hour ago." He replied easily.

Sakura, who was standing next to Ino, froze. That was impossible. She had heard Naruto's distinctive laugh in ANBU HQ at least six hours ago. She sent a suspicious glance in his direction. He didn't seem to notice the green eyes trained on him, turning instead to talk to Shikamaru, who had collapsed on the blonde's other side with the usual sigh of "Troublesome."

"What's not troublesome to you, Shika-chan?" Naruto laughed, purposely turning away from Sakura. With the look in her eyes, it seemed as if his and Sai's little play hadn't helped much. Damn.

"Cloud watching and sleeping are about it." Shikamaru replied, also noticing Sakura's glances at his friend. Did she notice something he didn't? She knew the boy better than he did, was something off? Was this not the real Naruto? Time for some subtle probing.

"Of course." Naruto grinned.

"Hey, Naruto, do you wanna go where we usually meet. This place is getting crowded." Ino scowled at an older man over her shoulder. The man had the audacity to insult their friend where they could all hear him. Of course, Naruto just ignored it, like he always did.

"Sure, Ino. I guess I could come back later." Placing enough money to cover the one bowl he had managed to down before he was surrounded, plus a generous tip, on the counter the blond threw a farewell to the shop owners before following his friends out of the small stall.

"Wow, I'd never thought I'd see the day when you only ate a bowl of ramen, and then paid for yourself." Kiba teased, falling in step with his friend. Shikamaru added those abnormalities to the list.

"Well, I'd rather talk to you guys in a place where I don't have to worry, and no one ate with me, so there was no one to mooch of off." The teen answered, shivering when he felt the combined stare of Sakura's suspicious green eyes, and Shikamaru's calculating gaze. What did the genius suspect?

The group fell into light bantering and separate conversations, so while Naruto was trading insults with Sasuke, with Sai and Kiba interjecting every now and then, Shikamaru drifted back to walk inconspicuously with the pink haired kunoichi.

"What's wrong?" He asked finally, a simple question, though the undertone was deep, not that the girl would realize that until later.

"Wrong? No, nothing. I'm just confused." Sakura whispered to the boy.

The brunette dropped his volume too. "About what, Sakura?" Usually delving into the different aspects of a person's life like this was too troublesome, but as a jounin, he had a duty to the village, and as a friend, if that wasn't the real Naruto, they had to find him.

He had forgotten how smart Sakura was, though.

She turned her sharp gaze onto him. It seemed being in the tutelage of Tsunade-hime made a person extremely paranoid. "Nothing, Shikamaru, nothing at all." She answered, speeding up to attach herself back to the main body of their group, leaving the boy sighing in frustration. But that crossed one thing off the list.

If that was an impostor, Sakura wouldn't hide the fact if she knew, she would scream it out for all to hear. Which meant something else was bothering her about her slightly younger (1) friend. Troublesome.

At the small flower shop that Ino's parents ran, they met up with team nine, and the slowly multiplying group trickled into the building.

Inside, they found something shocking. Glancing at the price tag on a vase of peonies, as if he was actually interested in buying the delicate flowers, stood Hatake Kakashi.

It took Naruto a few seconds to keep himself from laughing when he saw that the older nin was missing his characteristic orange paperback. He supposed it was only minutes ago that the man found that not only the one in his kunai pouch was missing, but also the collection on the shelves in the older man's home were gone, too. Neko had somehow learned of their Taicho's 'naked romp' through his own room, in front of two guys, so true to his threat, Kitsune had stolen the elicit text and burned it to cinders. He had no doubt that it was actually Gaara that had told the nosy ANBU, but he just wanted to get rid of the books. Besides, he had bought them back for the man and would present them for his birthday, which was last week. In fact…

"Kakashi-sensei!"The boy called, happily glomping the silver haired man. The pack on his back clunked around a bit, and he pretended to remember something after releasing his victim. "Ah, Kakashi-sensei, your birthday was a couple of days ago, right? I got you something!" He took of the lumpy pack, and rooted around for a second, before drawing out a large, wrapped package. "Happy belated birthday, sensei!"

The poor jounin/ANBU didn't even get a word in before the box was shoved in his hands, and the over excited blond bounced away to talk to his friends again.

Kakashi drew the wrapping back carefully. You could never be too careful with gifts from Naruto, it could very easily be a prank in disguise. Instead of paint being shot out of the box, or any form of prank for that matter, he found a full set of Jiraiya-sama's books, paperback, and signed by the author himself. Kakashi almost started crying. Kitsune-taicho had torched all of is Icha Icha Paradise books. How did Naruto always seem to know what was needed?

Wait a minute.

How _did_ Naruto know?

Then he found the note on the bottom of the box.

_Kaka-sensei,_

_Heard about what Foxy-san did to your precious collection. I'll try to stop him from doing it again, but no promises. Good job putting up with that hard ass for so long. Keep up the good work!_

_Naruto Uzumaki!_

Kakashi looked over at the seemingly oblivious boy, not really sure what he should be more shocked about, the fact that Naruto knew Kitsune-taicho well enough to call him Foxy-san, or the fact that the blond had the nerve to address the letter 'Kaka-sensei'. Score that another tally for the mysteries that surrounded the young chuunin like a cloak. Unpredictable was one thing, enigmatic was by far another. What else was there about his former student didn't he know?

Shikamaru caught sight of Kakashi's measuring gaze on his sunny friend. _Another_ person that is noticing something off about the kid? The only Team Seven member that seemed oblivious to the fact that the fair-haired boy was hiding something was Sasuke. Hell, even Sai seemed to be acting different around the teen, and he was the most socially oblivious guy there was! What the hell was going on?!

Naruto felt another pair of eyes join the original two, and his grin widened. It was time to have some fun.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, I'm sorry you had to see Foxy-san go uber protective. He just doesn't get that I'm not interested." Naruto sighed dramatically, watching Kakashi's eye go wide behind his pink haired friend. He heard Sai snicker beside him. Sakura blushed.

Ino laughed, having already heard about the incident from her friend. "You know, Naruto, I've heard a lot of rumors about that guy, but none of them suggested he swung _that_ way."

Naruto met Kakashi's stunned gaze with his own mischievous smile, though to anyone else it would seem like he was smiling at Sakura. "Ah, really, I don't think he swings any way. Mostly, I think he's Naruto-sexual. And besides, Ino, most of the rumors you picked off the grapevine are exaggerated or faked for the benefit of a mission."

"N-naruto. Are you sure you should be talking about him like that?" Hinata was getting better, she only stuttered once, Naruto noted.

"Hinata-chan, what's he gonna do. It's not like I'm revealing any secrets that are S-classed or anything, just telling you guys some little tid bits about a friend." The foxy teen grinned. And it was true. He wasn't spouting his team's secrets, and he wasn't talking about anybody behind their backs. It was a bit hard to do that to yourself, and would entail some seriously painful yoga.

Any mess he made as Naruto, he would clean up as Kitsune later. Besides, things were getting a bit dull after he had dragged Sasuke back, and it was time to stir up some fun, if just to get a few rises out of the people he loved like family.

He wasn't surprised when a large hand clamped over his and he was dragged out of the shop by the silver haired jounin, the only explanation he received was a hurried 'Need to talk to you'.

A few roof tops later found Naruto rubbing his wrist with a petulant look on his face. Finally, when the red handprint had faded a bit, he let the older man ask his question.

"Is it really true, are you and Kitsune-tai- er, are you guys really that close?" The copy-nin demanded.

"Well, Foxy-san saved me from the villagers when I was little, and we've been inseparable ever since." Naruto told a version of the truth.

And it was partially true. That fateful day he became Kitsune was the day he saved himself from the vengeful civilians, and now the personas were entwined, the dobe cover and the silent ANBU captain.

"And he's really not attracted to you?" Kakashi asked.

"Nah, Kaka-sensei, that's just an inside joke between me and him. Is there anything else, or can I go back to people who aren't going to drag me to rooftops?" Without waiting for an answer, Naruto ran down the wall of the building confidently, and made his way back to the shop, leaving his former teacher to his own thoughts.

'_Why do I care who Kitsune-taicho is attracted to?' _Kakashi wondered.

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The End… of the chapter anyway. I know it took me a long time, too long, but I've had a lot to do. This that and the other, you know how it is. So, now that I posted one of the chapters y'all were waiting for, I won't feel so bad posting a one shot I cranked out at midnight one night! ^^


	7. Chapter 7

Okey dokey then, I wanna be on a roll, so I can attempt to keep up. I've already typed out one chapter for another story, let's go for two, ne? And away we go!

Disclaimer: I own this laptop, and with it, I can bend the world of Naruto. But, with a pencil in my hand, I can't even attempt to draw Naruto. Thus, I don't own it. (sigh)

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_**Chapter 7**_

_Recap:_

"_And he's really not attracted to you?" Kakashi asked._

"_Nah, Kaka-sensei, that's just an inside joke between me and him. Is there anything else, or can I go back to people who aren't going to drag me to rooftops?" Without waiting for an answer, Naruto ran down the wall of the building confidently, and made his way back to the shop, leaving his former teacher to his own thoughts._

'Why do I care who Kitsune-taicho is attracted to?'_ Kakashi wondered._

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Naruto made his way back to his friends grinning maniacally. Kakashi was confused, which was funny, Sakura and Shikamaru suspected something, which was interesting, and Sasuke was none the wiser about _anything_, which just about made his day.

It was good to be him.

Naruto was pelted with questions as to why his sensei had dragged him away so quickly, without any explanation.

The blond laughed it off, as usual. "He just wanted to grill me about the mission I went on, even though baa-chan told me to keep it a secret. He's just being nosy."

Neither Shikamaru nor Sakura seemed convinced, though the others took it as truth.

Shikamaru had observed the blond as much as he could over the time they were chatting in the flower shop, and had yet to notice anything off about the other boy, though he hadn't really spoken to Naruto enough to get to know him well.

Sakura was still suspicious. Really, it was just too big of a coincidence. It seemed that Naruto was not Kitsune, but when she went to go confront the ANBU Captain about his double identity, Naruto just happened to be there? Unlikely, really. She might have been fooled had she not known Naruto could create Kage Bunshin. As she had hit Naruto multiple times, Kitsune could have been Naruto's clone in uniform. But her friend was too prideful to drag his own name through the mud like that. Bad gas, seriously? Sakura didn't know whether to believe it or not.

**.: Pinky suspects something, and Pineapple head suspects that Pinky suspects something.:. **Kyuubi pointed out needlessly. Naruto didn't even react when the demon's voice echoed in his mind, continuing his conversation with Chouji without pause.

_.: No, really?:. _Naruto's thought voice was sarcastic. _.: I would have never realized that if you, in all you ancient glorified fluffiness, hadn't pointed that out to me. Thank you, Lord Kyuubi, for the privlidge of you having departed some of your wisdom upon me.:._

Kyuubi snorted derisively. **.: You're welcome, brat. Glad you properly appreciate how valuable I am.:.** He responded, rolling his ginormous red eyes. Naruto mentally giggled.

~~~~With The Rest of Naruto's ANBU Team (Excluding Kakashi)~~~~

Three jounin sat together in the bbq shop, chatting quietly in a corner. If one was to listen closely, all they would hear is inane chatter about the jounins' daily lives, while, in reality, it was a subtle genjutsu that covered the real conversation.

And this topic was nothing new to the jounin. Who was Kitsune?

"He said his favorite color is red, and his favorite food is sushi. And Tsunade-sama revealed that he has two summoning contracts at his disposal." One of the jounin, an effiminate man known to the citizens as Watari Kaiba, but the small group also identified as Neko, pointed out.

"We know, you idiot, we were there too." Ookami growled, though to the citizens' eyes, the face of Ibiki Morino remained impassive.

Yugao Uzuki, who was sitting next to him, snorted derisively. Mizuhebi, as she was more often called by this lot, was one of Kaiba's most dedicated torturers. As he was relatively new to the team, he was seen as a probie, thus mercilessly teased.

"Well, look at it this way! It's a fact, as stated by him, that he is one of the Rookie Nine. How many of them have at least one confirmed summons, much less two?" Kaiba exclaimed, covering for his embarrasment.

That actually caused the other two secret ANBU members to think.

"Well..." Ibiki said after a drawn out, thoughtful silence, "The Uchiha brat has admitted to signing the Snake summoning contract."

"Don't forget that new flunky of the Hokage, what's her name, Sakura, was recently rumored to have been given access to the Slug summoning contract." Yugao added.

"Uzumaki is known to have the Frog summons at hand." Kaiba said, and two out of the three grimaced. Ibiki just rolled his eyes. He remembered the brat from the first test of the Chuunin Exams, and yes, the kid was annoying, but there was no way in Hell he was evil.

Wait a second...

"Hey, isn't the Kyuubi the boss summons of the Foxes?" He asked suddenly.

"Why should I know, or ca- shit!" Kaiba exclaimed, as he came to the same conclusion as his coworker.

Yugao, as usual, was the last to catch on. "Why would that be important?" She demanded, after the other two didn't expand on their statments.

Kaiba sighed exasperatedly. "Think of it this way, Yugao-san. If Uzumaki somehow managed to sign the Fox contract, he would be the weilder of how many contracts?" He expalined as if talking to a rather dim child.

Yugao scowled, until his words sunk in. "Shit."

They were about to explore the possibility more, when someone entered the bubble of privacy, and they all turned to come face to face with Hatake Kakashi.

"Inu, you're late." Ibiki growled, after making sure their genjutsu was still safely in place.

"And I have a valid reason, one of my dear students just came back from a solo mission, and I had to go greet him personally, of course." The silver haired man explained, taking the empty seat beside Neko.

"That student that came back wouldn't happen to be Uzumaki, would it?" Yugao asked. Kakashi grinned, though it wasn't visible under his clothe mask.

"Yeah, it was. And he got me the most foresightful present for my birthday!" The happy jounin shouted, bandishing one of the Icha Icha books. The rest had taken the shelf of the old collection.

"... Didn't Kitsune-taicho burn your copies of those?" Kaiba asked cautiously. Kakashi, still oblivious, nodded with a woeful sigh.

"He left the cinders on my doorstep. I still stand true to the claim that it wasn't me who told Neko, but Taicho won't believe me." He announced sorrowfully, and didn't notice the panicked look in his teammates' eyes.

"There's no way it can be a coincidence." Yugao said.

"But it can't be true because..." Ibiki murmured.

"We'd be screwed." Kaiba finished Ibiki's sentence for him. And it was true, if their Taicho was who they thought he was, then they would all be worse than dead, with the way they treated the teen in civilian life.

"What in the world has got you guys so wound?" Kakashi queried, finally catching on to his team's distress.

Ibiki, who was the only one who could moderately speak, said plainly, "Inu, we have reason to belive that our Taicho may be one and the same with that blond gaki you teach."

Whatever they were suspecting, it wasn't the laughter that escaped the silver haired man's lips.

When the scarecrow finally caught his breath enough to explain, he did so, "I don't know how you all came to that conclusion, but there is no way Naruto is Kitsune-Taicho, not only does it not make sense, it is impossible! Naruto is well intentioned, but a bit of a clutz, nothing like our graceful leader. And he's too loud! Kitsune wouldn't be caught dead making that much noise! He's also too naive to have killed as many men as Taicho. Do I need to continue?"

But the job was done, and the team relaxed. "Yeah," Kaiba said, laughing at their stupidity, "There's no possible way. How could we even begin to think that, much less make ourselves believe it." Yugao nodded in agreement.

Thus, the teammates settled down to discuss who else their mysterious captain might be behind the porcelain mask, not realizing that the metaphorical one the boy donned did it's job efficently.

Of to the side, Ibiki frowned. It was almost too easy...

Could it be that none of them were practicing the very thing they all taught, look underneath the underneath?

~~~~ With Gaara And Naruto ~~~~

If one were to look up at the Hokage Monument from the village at its feet, they would have not immediately spotted the two figures perched on the top of the Yondaime's head. If they did, from that vantage point, notice the figures, they still wouldn't be able to see enough to make out who they were.

Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Gaara sat together with their feet dangling to the oblivion that was presented by the cliff, neither frightened by the sheer drop.

Gaara almost snorted at the picture others who knew them would see. Two people with totally opposite personalities sitting together, in a comfortable silence. Before, he too, would have thought so. But now his eyes had been opened to the fact that he and his blond friend were more alike than he originally assumed.

Both had the blood of those who were innocent, and those who were not so innocent, staining their hands crimson. They had both been slaves to the expectations of others, before they were pulled from the mindset. One by an old man who had extended his hand to the child, who in turn had grabbed hold of the other, and yanked him visciously into friendship. Both were not the demons they were accused of, though both had come closer than they were comfortable admitting.

Gaara glanced at his silent companion, whose eyes mirrored the color of the sky he was staring blankly at.

Both were cursed to die, someday, for the people that hated them.

And they had both accepted it.

After a few more minutes of complete lack of the jabber he was used to from Naruto, Gaara himself broke the peace of the scene.

He gently touched a whiskered cheek. "It's almost as if the boy I met so long ago died." He whispered, and the blue eyes landed on him.

"He couldn't have died, Gaara, because he never really existed in the first place." Naruto responded, his voice equally soft.

Gaara nodded, and both withdrew into their silent contemplations.

And another similarity was born, because both minds hovered on the thoguht of whether or not someone who never existed could die.

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Teehee, that's two down, one to go, but not right now, I'm sleepy... Night!


	8. Chapter 8

Hey peeps. I'm trying to keep up a steady pace. Though right now I'm kind of angry, because PTR was updateda few days ago, and only two people have reviewed! Plenty of story alerts, though... Hm... maybe I should start holding more chapters hostage. That tactic worked well for my Harry Potter story...

Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't own, we all don't own, yet most of us still manage to portray the characters better than the person who does own. I hope I am among those ranks!

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Chapter 8

_**Recap**_

_He gently touched a whiskered cheek. "It's almost as if the boy I met so long ago died." He whispered, and the blue eyes landed on him._

_"He couldn't have died, Gaara, because he never really existed in the first place." Naruto responded, his voice equally soft._

_Gaara nodded, and both withdrew into their silent contemplations._

_And another similarity was born, because both minds hovered on the thought of whether or not someone who never existed could die_.

_**OoOoOoO**_

The next day, as he made his way to the place where he and Team Seven usually met, Naruto could practically feel the gaze of unseen eyes boring into him. The road he was walking along was empty save for the blond, but surrounded by trees, as most streets in Konoha were. A great place to hide from unwanted attention, or, in this case, keep hidden from the person you were stalking.

Naruto recognized the faint, almost completely hidden chakra signiture imediatly. He spent too much time with the owner to be ignorant to the familiarity of it.

Ookami, it seemed, was trying to see through his carefully crafted mask.

Normally, the young man would have written it off as coincidence, or as his team's usual spying on the members of the rookie nine, after all, the four ANBU thought that if they watched the younger generation enough, they would finally be able to discern who their taicho was. Countless off duty hours were spent tailing the teenagers. But, this was too convenient to be a coincidence. It was only the day after he had given them their clues, and he suspected the Hag had given them one more that would narrow it down immensely.

Pretending not to notice the person perched in the trees, the blond strolled on leisurely.

So, it was only Ookami, even though the whole team was off that day... that either meant he was the only one who suspected, or that they were stalking- er- tailing him in shifts. Both were plausible.

As he joined his two chuunin teammates, and waited for their sensei, he kept his senses trained on the other ANBU.

Finally, when Kakashi appeared, Naruto looked him straight in the eye, and grinned when he found nothing different in the expression. Kakashi was the worst actor on their team, and even though he wouldn't say it out loud, his expression would scream any suspicion he had that Naruto wasn't exactly what he claimed to be.

Satisfied that Ookami seemed to be working alone, he discreetly made a shadow clone while he goaded the Uchiha.

Unlike the clones he made in front of his chuunin teammates, which appeared right next to him, and could only take one hit, this shadow clone formed itself in a clearing in the woods a mile away and was made to take more damage by layering chakra levels though it. Walking purposely over to one of the trees, which honestly looked no different from any other, the clone pulled a vial of blood from one of the cubbies hidden not only by the large root of the tree, but also by an almost completely undetectable genjutsu.

The clone poured the blood on the side of the tree, which allowed for a secret compartment twenty feet away to become unlocked. Retrieving the things stashed in the compartment, and quickly dressing in them, where a clone of Uzumaki Naruto once stood, the ANBU captain Kitsune took its place.

The first thing ANBU learned in the forces was to not only expect the unexpected, but to plan for it. It just so happened that Naruto had a bit more variables than most. He knew that he would need to draw Ibiki's suspicion away from himself, and the only way to do that was to be in two places at once.

Kitsune nodded in satisfaction, then shunshined to a tree that was a bit away from the one his team member was perched in, and quietly snuck up on the unsuspecting ANBU.

"Do you really think Inu wouldn't realize I was on his team immediately. Really, so little faith in your teammates, Ookami, you should be ashamed of yourself." Kitsune sat calmly on the branch as a kunai, clutched in the hand of the surprised older man, was held to his throat for a moment before being drawn away.

"Kitsune-taicho. You should know better than to sneak up on me. I could have really killed you!" Ookami exclaimed, even as he checked the chakra signature of his companion to make sure he really was who he claimed to be. Relaxing when the feeling he knew so well, the powerful aura of his captain's chakra, washed over him, the large man grinned.

"So, who are you stalking today, Ookami. It isn't the usual time of month for my team to be following members of the rookie nine." Laughing when Ookami's eyes cut over to the real Naruto, he pretended to just realize the target, "Uzumaki's turn again, is it. Really, I would hate to be that kid. Too much on his shoulders for a regular chuunin to bear. Good thing the container is so resilient, right?" This was a tactic he employed to throw off anyone who got too close to the truth. Anybody who knew the ANBU captain well, knew he was anything but vain. Vanity is almost impossible to acomplish behind a mask. If they thought that Naruto and Kitsune were one and the same, Kitsune would appear, and start complimenting the blond. Anybody who was convinced the demon container was the ANBU captain immediately began doubting themselves. If they were correct, then Kitsune was, in a sense, complimenting himself, and that was too vain to be true.

But this time, Ibiki wasn't fooled. There was just too much evidence that pointed towards the boisterous blond, the least of which being Kitsune meant demon fox, and who would proudly bear the mark of a monster other than the one who bore the monster itself?

But, why was Kitsune protecting his secret so fiercely? If Konoha ninja knew that the most respected ANBU captain was the Kyuubi's vessel, well, they would probably finally realize the kid wasn't the fox. Kitsune had saved as many lives as Kyuubi had ended.

No, there was something more going on here, and Ibiki was determined to find out what it was.

Instead of revealing his thoughts, Ookami casually said, "Well, you're right. I'd really hate to be that kid. Haven't seen him since the Chuunin Exams a few years back, but he seemed okay, if a bit of an idiot. You're right, there's no way he could be you."

The older man could practically see the smirk on his captains face when the younger man replied, "What is it that proved my point, the fact that he's an idiot, or the fact that he seems okay?"

The scarred ANBU was about to respond, when they were suddenly joined by another member of their team. Apparently Kakashi had unwiitingly taken a leaf out of his leaders book, and sent a clone dressed in uniform to go investigate the conversation in the tree while the real man stood just outside the clearing, reading his new porn as Sasuke and Naruto sparred, and Sakura practiced earth jutsu.

"Well, hello, Inu. You're just in time to play you guys' favorite game, 'Who's behind the Kitsune mask?' Care to place your bet?" Kitsune announced when the clone landed on the tree branch.

Inu snorted. "I wouldn't place a bet, because you wouldn't tell us who you really are, and then you'd just get to keep the money."

Ibiki agreed, though now he would bet everything he owned that the man behind the mask was really the blond teen, but he didn't want to reveal that officially to his team until he found out why it was such a well kept secret.

"Uh oh, would you look at the time?" Ookami stated, looking at the suns position. It was nearly one thirty. "I have an interrogation to oversee in about ten minutes. See you guys at the next meeting." With that, the man teleported away. He had to talk to the Hokage.

Kitsune blinked at the empty space where his comrade was only moments before, blinked a few times, then shrugged and did the same, reappearing in the clearing, putting the outfit away, and cancelling himself.

Naruto didn't even pause in his battle against his friend when the knowledge hit him. Really, his team suspected someone new every week, Naruto just happened to be the one who got the most attention.

Kakashi's clone disappeared itself, and the man blinked lazily, processing the information. Apparently their new hints on the captain's identity had Ibiki suspecting someone on his team, but really, Kakashi thought he would have noticed if Kitsune was secretly one of his genin. He wasn't an idiot, after all.

~~~~ With Ibiki and Tsunade~~~~

Ookami slipped easily into the window of the Hokage's office, not even turning to look at the astonishing view of the city he vowed to protect now visible through the small portal.

He bowed to Tsunade respectfully, though she couldn't see him, as she was rooting under her desk, he knew she had felt him coming.

"Hold on a minute, Ibiki-chan, I'm trying to figure out where I hid my sake." Ookami flinched at the nick name. The current Hokage had been friends with his parents, and had watched him grow up, and had never dropped the stupid, childish -chan. He was glad she only called him that when they were alone. He would never live it down with his team.

Finally, the busty blond woman sat up straight, clutching a stone ware jug and grinning evilly.

Pouring the amber liquid, she looked up at the scarred man. "So, Ibiki-chan, you don't normally visit me, and there's no prisoner in your custody at the moment, so you can't be here to report on that. The only other option is you've found out who Kitsune-chan is, or, at least, think you have."

Ibiki nodded, sitting in the chair on the other side of the desk.

"Really, Tsunade-sama, after looking at all of the facts, there's only one person it _could_be. Any other would make no sense." He replied, looking into her honey brown eyes to see if there was any reaction. Like any good shinobi, her expression was a carefully crafted mask.

"And who, Ibiki-chan, have you finally decided it was?" The woman querried.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Instead of bursting out laughing, or confirming his beliefs like he'd hoped, the sannin just back comfortably in her chair.

"And what made you come to that conclusion? It obviously isn't the way he acts." She snorted, and both got a brief vision of Naruo as a younger child, running from ANBU, laughing merrily as paint dripped from the buchket in his hand and streamed from the running ninja, who had just been on the end of one of his childish pranks. The orange didn't wash out for a week.

"Actually, it kind of was. The boy is the container of the Kyuubi, who, at the very least, would refuse to be housed in an idiot. He trains for almost twelve hours a day, long after the rest of his team are gone, and yet shows no improvement. I know for a fact that Kitsune-taicho chose his mask, and who would be bold nough to do that other than the Uzumaki. His eyes, when you see them, are red. That color only applies to Uchiha and Kurenai, and those two were ruled out long ago. Besides, Kurenai-chan already has an ANBU identity. Uzumaki could use a bit of the demon's chakra to do that. Finally, there is the order you gave after you gave us that hint, to not treat him any differently if we figured it out. " The man revealed his reasoning.

Tsunade frowned slightly as she thought of something. She could confirm the ANBU's suspicions, and risk him telling the wrong person, or keep him in the dark, and have mistrust fester in that team.

Finally, she activated the secrecy jutsus around the office. To anybody outside, the conversation in the office became inaudible, any bugs already placed in the room were rendered useless for a few minutes, and the window became one way, so anybody on the wall outside couldn't read her lips.

"Ibiki, I've known you since you were still in your mothers stomach, I delivered you, and I watched you grow up. What I want to know now is, can I trust you? If I fianlly tell you who Kitsune is, I want you to swear to me that you won't reveal it to anyone else, not even your teammates, under the penalty of death." Brown eyes were serious, and the man frowned, leaned forward slightly, and nodded.

"You have my word. Unless Kitsune-taicho gives leave, no one else will ever know."

Suddenly the legendary ninja burst out laughing. "You always were a bright kid, Ibiki-chan! But, really, it took you so long to figure it out, when there was nothing but clue upon clue!"

The ANBU sat back, eyes wide. "So... I was right?" He knew it was the kid, was utterly sure of it. But it was still a bit of a shock to have it confirmed.

"Oh, yeah, Naruto has been Kitsune since he was about four. In fact, in a twisted way, his induction into the ANBU Corps was his birhtday present, after he had accidently set off a wave of toxic chakra against a crowd of civilians and ninja, who were chasing him, intent on killing him."

"B-but, we would have noticed a midjet running misions! Kitsune wasn't officailly on a team until about six years back, which was five years after you say he became a member!"

"Oh, he had to train for about three years, and then, by that time, he had so much power, he was taken on as Sarutobi's personal bodyguard. So, for about two years, that kid lived in shadows. Kind of gives you a new perspective on why his choice of persona is so sunny, eh?" The woman laughed again, though it was verging on bitter.

"Wow, a four year old ANBU Trainee. He skipped three other levels, shot straight to the top, then decided to go back down to the bottom. Why?"

"Well, the way I hear it, it was an accident, really. He wasn't even planning on making Genin. It just sort of... happened. He was given a special limitation by the council that said if he didn;t make genin by the third try, he wouldn't be able to join the ranks of nin, which suited Naruto and Sarutobi just fine. Naruto would fail, and then, just disappear, living just as Kitsune for the rest of his life." Tsunade shrugged, pouing another glass of the strong alchohol.

"How... Mizuki." Ibiki answered his own question, remembering how he was the one to question the traitorous chuunin after the whole Forbidden Scroll fiasco. "But, why did he do it? why did he take the scroll, and go to meet the bastard?"

Thin shoulders shrugged. "The way he tells it, catching Mizuki for the triator he was was part of the plan. Iruka's involvement, and the subsequent advancement of Naruto officailly in the ninja ranks was all an accident. Kind of funny how it works that way."

Both adults sat silently for a while, contemplating how living the life of an ANBU would effect a child. Finally, Tsunade stood up.

"Well, if we're done here, Ibiki-chan, it's my nap time." She announced, dropping the secrecy jutsus and walking out the door without waiting for an answer. The man laughed, and left as well.

And heavy secrets echoed in an empty office.

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Haha! It sucks, I know, but, well, had to get someone on Naru-chan's side, and I like Ibiki, he's weird, just like me! Well, you know what. I've decided to hold the next chapter hostage! Y'all won't hear a peep from this story until I get the full ransom of five reviews... and a batch of chocolate chip cookies! So there!


	9. Chapter 9

Okay, so it's definitely going to be yaoi, sorry het lovers. And this chapter gets a bit naughty at the end. Just a warning.

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_**Chapter 9**_

_**Recap**_

_Thin shoulders shrugged. "The way he tells it, catching Mizuki for the traitor he was, was part of the plan. Iruka's involvement and the subsequent advancement of Naruto officially in the ninja ranks was all an accident. Kind of funny how it works that way."_

_Both adults sat silently for a while, contemplating how living the life of an ANBU would affect a child. Finally, Tsunade stood up._

_"Well, if we're done here, Ibiki-chan, it's my nap time." She announced, dropping the secrecy jutsus and walking out the door without waiting for an answer. The man laughed, and left as well._

_And heavy secrets echoed in an empty office._

Naruto stared at the blond woman incredulously. "You- you did _what_? After all of mine and the old man's hard work, after all of my duplicity, you just go and have a reveal all with one of my teammates? Do you _want_ me to die, baa-chan? Because that's what's going to happen. He's going to tell someone, whether it be an accident or on purpose, and that someone is going to tell someone, and that someone is going to tell someone, until the whole shinobi force of Konoha will know, and then none of them will trust me ever again, and then I'll die on a mission without the back up of my own team, and then they'll all celebrate, and then-"

"NARUTO!" The deceptively young looking woman called, breaking him out of his hysterics. "Good, now, two things, first… did you say all of that in one breath?"

"Tsunade-baa-chan!" Naruto groaned.

"Fine, fine. Anyway, after working so long and intimately with you, I think your team at least deserves to know. They should know you well enough that even though they think Naruto is the incarnate of Kyuubi, that, after knowing you, you're not really. I mean, you're an ANBU captain that fights tooth and nail for Konoha." Tsunade declared, before stating primly, "And stop calling me old."

She paused as a strange look came over the teenager's face. His eyes, which had been so expressive before immediately grew cold, and it was like a shutter had closed on his emotions. When he spoke again, t was more formal than he'd ever been.

"Hokage-sama, I have live in this village, protected this village, all of my life. Even to this day, my persona as Naruto Uzumaki is hated, despised, shunned. He is a chuunin, on his way to being a jounin. If he's not accepted even now, well, he may never be." The blond spoke of himself as if he was two different people. And, in a way, he was. Neither of which showed exactly who he was.

Tsunade blinked in shock for a moment, before it hit her, really hit her, that the boy was right. Konoha citizens and ninja hated him as much now as they had the day he had been sealed.

And from the way he had described it, she had just signed the teenager's death certificate.

"Well, fuck."

Naruto made his way back to his apartment, deep in thought, though conscious enough of his mask enough to be singing a cheery, made up song about the god-like qualities of ramen. He knew he was being watched. Really, he was almost always watched. An ANBU teammate, the civilians, deranged people wanting to kill him… which really fell under the civilian category, sadly enough.

It didn't take long until he felt someone beside him on both sides, and looked up to see Sai and Gaara glaring at each other from either side of him.

"Hi, guys!" He said cheerfully, wondering what was going on between the two males. Both looked at him at the same time, frowning.

"What's the matter, Naruto?" Gaara asked quietly.

Sai followed up with a "You usually don't sing nonsense songs about ramen unless you're really depressed."

Naruto kept smiling, leading his two closest friends to his apartment. "I'll tell you when we get to my house. It's nothing I can say in the open." He murmured. The others nodded seriously.

Unnoticed by them, Sasuke stopped shopping to watch them, frowning in irritation. Before he had left the village, he considered himself Naruto's best friend, and privy to all of the blonde's secrets, now, he felt pushed to the side and left out. It wasn't a comfortable place to be.

Ibiki watched the trio from a rooftop, wondering how much the other two knew about his captain. He followed close behind, swiftly jumping from rooftop to rooftop, finally landing in the tree outside the blonde's apartment as they walked into the building.

He saw the boys walk in, and Naruto told the other two to make themselves at home while he went to change.

They just spent that whole time glaring menacingly at each other, much to Ibiki's amusement.

Naruto came out clad only in a pair of sleeper pants decorated with green frogs, and from the way green and black eyes followed the scantily clad boy as he moved around the apartment, Ibiki could figure out what they were silently fighting over, though, true to form, Naruto stayed oblivious. The blond quickly made tea, and motioned for his friends to sit down on one of the sofas.

The small apartment was in surprisingly good shape, and very well decorated, though when Naruto wasn't home, it was under a genjutsu to look just as decrepit and ugly as the day he purchased it. Any damage done was only an illusion, the genjutsu set to understand what was going to happen, and make it look like it did.

The apparent rivals sat on either side of the blond, taking their teacups and smiling gently at their friend, almost in sync, causing Ibiki to grin.

"So, Naruto, what has you so depressed?" Gaara asked, placing a hand on his fellow vessel's shoulder. Naruto sighed and set down his tea.

"Well, today, apparently Tsunade-baa-chan found it prudent to reveal my identity to one of my teammates. If he tells anyone, word will spread quickly, and though none of the other ANBU would even think of trying to kill me after that, they certainly won't help me on missions. I'm strong, yeah, but I'm not perfect. I will die without any back up." Naruto told them, and the two teenagers growled simultaneously.

"If that happens, Naruto, then I want you to come to Suna with me, as an ambassador or something. Even with your identity known, my people won't really care; they deal with me, don't they?" Gaara commanded.

"You could always join ROOT. We're so deep in cover that the Hokage doesn't even know about us." Sai suggested.

Naruto nodded thoughtfully at Gaara's suggestion, but looked incredulously at Sai. "You want me to put myself under _Danzo's_ thumb? Do you know what he'd have me _do_?" Sai sighed n defeat.

"I know. It was only a suggestion."

Naruto smiled and hugged his friends, happy that they even cared enough about him to want to help.

Outside the window, Ibiki frowned. Did Kitsune-taicho really distrust him that much? Then again, thinking back, the bow was shunned in public by him and the rest of their teammates, save for Kakashi, but even he preferred the Uchiha over Naruto… Well fuck, now he would definitely work twice as hard to keep the secret and earn his captain's unquestioning trust, like these two boys seemed to have done.

~~This is where things get naughty!~~

_A lusty moan filled the room as Kakashi slid up the smaller, lithe body pressed against his. He tweaked pink nipples until they were erect and aching._

"_Please…" The other person, obviously male if the thing poking into his thigh said anything, begged. Kakashi smirked._

_He ran his tongue down the chest of the bed's other occupant, visiting the same nipples his hands had been abusing moments ago. The other person arched and cried out._

_Finally burying himself into the tight heat of his lover, who had his face pressed into the mattress, though his blissful moans could still be heard. He thrust wildly into the tight heat surrounding his erection, whispering dirty things to the man underneath him._

"_Do you like having my cock in your ass, taicho? You're so tight."_

_Finally both men reached completion, and Kakashi collapsed on the other body, which turned to face him._

_And the ANBU found himself looking into the eyes of none other than his excitable student, Naruto Uzumaki._

~~Naughtiness Ends Here!~~

Kakashi sat up gasping, alone in bed and highly relieved. It was only a dream. A vivid dream, but a dream nonetheless.

The man was embarrassed to realize that the sheets and his boxers were wet, and made his way into the bathroom, highly confused.

* * *

My first time writing anything even _remotely_ similar to smut. I didn't do too bad, right? Well, I guess I need to keep practicing. And reading more citrus. A really taxing assignment, I know. Any~who, that's the last of my needed updates for now, so now, at 5 o' clock in the morning, it's bedtime!


End file.
